Tale of Team Iridescence
by Constipated Genius
Summary: As teams of ruby red and juniper green band together in the fight against Salem, one must wonder what would happen if there was a third team in play. Explore the tale of this third team, from humble beginnings on towards their quest against the darkness, for all the trials and tribulations they must endure along the way. (Shifts from journal format to third person as of Volume 7)
1. A Pair of Prodigies

A Pair of Prodigies:

When Dad passed his old journal down to me, I don't know if I expected to have any use for it anytime soon. Between me and Mom deciding what weapon I should focus on training with, Dad helping me craft my bow-katana Emerald, and Sandy training me, I didn't exactly think writing down what'd happened in my life every now and again was high on my priority list. After all, I always thought training to make sure I can make it into Haven Academy was more important than a journal – not that I didn't appreciate the idea of logging the events of my life down, but I have my Semblance and a myriad of other things to focus on first.

For the first few weeks I had this damn thing it was just… interesting reading I guess I could call it. Dad always said that he'd kept it as a sort of dream journal, so that on those rare occasions he did dream he'd be able to look back on them, for whatever amusement that gave him. It definitely amused me that's for sure. Elaborate stories of elves and magic and dragons, a world where Grimm don't even exist – or maybe were called Daedra, he never really specified – the list goes on. Heck, if my first impression of him was drawn from the journal and not from being raised by him, I'd probably be sooner to assume he was a writer rather than the blacksmith and leader of the clan he is. I suppose that just goes to show how far I have to go to become well-versed enough in the arts to be ready to inherit the clan down the line. For now, I'll follow Mom's advice – she _has_ told me time and again; "Opal, you need to take things one day at a time, or you're going to run yourself ragged!" Besides, inheriting the Malachite Clan's a long way away, and I could probably do with taking more advice from the human half of my parents. I may connect more with Dad any day of the week about being a Faunus or blacksmithing techniques, but sometimes Mom's simple advice is just what I need to stay calm – I just wish she didn't have to give me that advice seemingly on the hour some days.

That having been said, I sorta dropped the ball when it came to keeping track of daily events now that I've decided to start writing in the thing. A few months ago, I met this awesome person in the market by a stroke of amazing luck. Her name's Aurora Borealis, and much like me she's destined to one day lead her clan forward, but more importantly, she's something of a kindred spirit to me. It was clear from when we bumped into each other looking for whetstones in the market that we were both fighters, but as we got to talking I learned she adored music, Huntsmen, and honing her talents just as much as me. One thing led to another and I hardly even noticed weeks turn into months as we began sparring with one another. Now that her family is hosting some sort of clan gathering and we have to take a break from our shared training, I finally have the chance to put my thoughts into my journal.

I know for sure that this isn't just a passing friendship or anything either. We've known each other long enough to realize that aside from both being prodigies in combat and our Semblances, and our love of the arts, we've grown closer together than we have with any of our short-term friends before now. So, with all that in mind, I'm pretty sure that the gods have finally given me the sister and best friend I've never really had up until now, and for that I consider myself _extremely_ lucky.

Oh! And unlike Sandy – bless his soul for finding the patience to tutor me in combat – whose fighting style with his kanabo keeps him too slow on the ground to teach me about more nuanced, agile combat – Aurora is just as mobile as me, with a Semblance to match. Where I've clung to walls and created bursts of speed as if I was a born assassin with my Semblance, Aurora can create similar results not from her own body, but from what her Semblance allows her to manipulate. Although she can only manipulate a unique metal her clan has forged specifically for her metal-manipulating Semblance, she makes the most out of that metal and then some, using it like an extension of herself.

Where I prefer to wear some stealthy black and green clothes to keep me light on my toes and make the most of my Semblance's evasiveness, she wears her black and blue segmented metal armor like a second skin. Add on the metal cables she uses like extra limbs and she's just as mobile as me, swinging around the sparring ring like a whirlwind of steel and bullets. Even without the bunch of cables she has attached throughout it, she moves faster than some Huntsmen and Huntresses could even dream of moving when wearing metal armor. Add on top of that her naginata-assault-rifle Sapphire and getting near here is just an invitation to be bound in metal before being cleaved in two.

She's the only person my age I've ever been able to spar with to a standstill and keep up a conversation with without running out of things to say, so I suppose it's no small wonder Dad noticed I'd been forgetting to write down my thoughts. Between hanging out with her, sparring with her – again, I'll never get over how she can keep up with me when even Sandy sometimes has trouble keeping an eye on me before I strike – and just hanging out, I think this old thing was the last thing on my mind. Even now, I can only hope to keep my mind off the possibilities of what I'll end up learning about my Semblance or my fighting style the next time we meet up.

The only other thing on my mind nowadays has to be Haven Academy, now that I think about it. Professor Lionheart is going to be accepting new students soon, and I'm more than certain Aurora and I will finish our primary training in Sanctum in time to transfer over to the academy. From what I gather, becoming a Huntress is probably the only career Aurora's ever really thought about pursuing, and I think I know why. No matter how much we may both love the arts and our clans, there's something of a big allure to the chance to gain honor and respect for something more than simply being born into the upper crust of society. Huntsmen protect the innocent from both the Grimm and anyone who would see them harmed, and they earn their reputation from something more than a family name – even if some of them don't live long enough to see their earnings or inherit their clan in the first place.

No matter what the risk, Aurora's enough of a friend to me now for me to say with certainty that she really does want to be known for something more than her family name, and although I know she (or I, for that matter) will never leave behind her love of the arts and Mistral's beauty, she'll at least be respected for all the right reasons as a Huntress. That, and not having to answer to the city council is certainly a perk of being a Huntress both of us appreciate. If you're just a clan leader and you get on their bad side, you might be in for prison time, upper class or not. If you're a Huntsman or Huntress though, you might get a lot more leeway depending on how well-respected you are among the people. Judging by how both me and Aurora are up-and-coming prodigies by all accounts, I like to think we'll have a little extra favor when it comes to the politicians here if and when the time comes.

Anyway, as for me? I can't say my choice in career was always as adrenaline-pumping as becoming a Huntress. All things considered, up until relatively recently, I thought for sure that I was just gonna wind up taking up the mantle of leader of the clan and continue to hone my smithing – but the gods had other plans, I guess. After that Grimm attack on me, my parents, and Sandy on our way to camp at Lake Matsu a while back left half of our guards dead and me with a need for a _new freaking eye_ – not to mention the tear in my poor left cat ear – it's not like I could just sit idly by and _not_ try to prevent something like that happening again! It's not exactly a job I'm pursuing for revenge though, despite whatever Dad may sometimes think. If I was an 'eye-for-an-eye' kind of girl, I think Sandy and his remaining guardsmen fighting off all the Grimm that dared to come to attack us before we got back to civilization woulda been enough payback for me. No, I just wanna make sure that my family never has to nearly die or stress so much ever again because I couldn't protect myself ever again – and becoming a Huntress is just the perfect way to do that.

But that's all in the future, and I have katas and sword techniques to practice if I wanna have a chance of hitting Aurora, and not just ending up with the two of us evading every one of each other's blows every time we spar. Even if that means I need to have my parents and the clan's inner council hovering over me to give me pointers, I plan on bringing a few surprises to our next match, so I'll take whatever tips they have to give me. After all, it's not like my family's advice has let me down before. If it did, I wouldn't have been able to make Emerald, let alone learn to wield it well enough to get accepted into Sanctum.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **So yeah! There's the first chapter of the Tale of Team Iridescence! I can only hope that in the future I'll be able to keep up the quality! And before you ask – yes. Yes, I did do a shameless self-reference in this chapter and I HAVE NO REGRETS. Its as close to a crossover as I could ever make, anyway lol.**

 **Oh! And shout-out (prepare for a lot of those) to Dunedan! He was my inspiration, primary consult, and constant pen pal concerning my ever-shifting ideas of what could make ToTI a good story despite my niche method of conveying the plot.**

* * *

 **UPDATE NOTE:** **As of November 6** **th** **, 2018, ToTI has undergone a rather… drastic overhaul, as you may or may not have noticed. A few weeks after finishing Volume 5 of ToTI, I experienced one of my imagination's oh-so-fickle 'epiphanies' as I like to call them, and asked myself the question – "What if Jade was a woman? Would that change anything?" At first, the answer was a simple 'nah.' But then… I thought about it. I thought about the potential for FemJade's possible romantic interest growing organically rather than the pre-ordained ship of Jade had in the main timeline, and that lead me to ask – "What if Lux was a Faunus? Would he and FemJade (aka Opal) have any interactions concerning the Faunus?" And so on.**

 **Eventually, I found that the Opal timeline I was thinking of fleshed out more about the Griseo twins and the POV of Iridescence than the original timeline ever did allow, at least in my eyes. That, or it simply provided me more potential for writing character development. One thing led to another… and I found myself more eager to entertain the idea of Opal in Volume 6 than Jade, for whatever reason, and thus I made my choice to overhaul ToTI's entire fanon of OC's in favor of creating Opal herself.**

 **I will always look back on the original Jade timeline with fondness, due to it being my first exercise in exploring the world of Remnant through my – admittedly niche – writing, but I hope that the alterations made as of now will prove to make Tale of Team Iridescence a better fanfic now than it was before.**

 **Cheers!  
~Constipated Genius~**

 **PS:** **Oh, and I do have a link to provide here that'll bring you to where my commissions of Team Iridescence's members will go as they come out, but since this site hates links... I'll just have to tell you to go to twitter, then add a (slash)grim10222 at the end to find my profile. Called 'SpaceCocaine,' with a pfp to match - you'll know it when ya see it!** **Also, they're also located on DeviantArt under the username ThatOneNerdYaKnow – I'd look forward to seeing ya there!**


	2. A Change in Plans & Beacon Academy

A Change in Plans:

Of course it's just our luck that right as Haven's rounding about the final weeks until it'll be accepting new students that the biggest crime wave in decades hits Mistral. Gang wars and widespread crime are nothing new at home, sure, but usually the police have them under wraps in pretty short order, and if they aren't enough there's always Huntsmen to call on through the mission boards. This time though its become something far greater than I've ever seen before, something more widespread and potentially dangerous than some of Sandy's stories from his travels as our clan's leading bodyguard. Usually, gangs are curb stomped before even their most elite thieves could think about making a daylight robbery, but this time is different. This time the Liumang Cartel is the organization you don't want to hear even in hush whispers in the market out of fear of drawing one of them towards you for a robbery – daylight or not.

The weird thing is, it's not like the Liumang Cartel popped up suddenly as the problem it is today, it seems like it's just been growing under the radar long enough to build up some decent muscle. They were once mostly a bunch of small-time pickpockets eking out an existence as a minor nuisance to only the most foolish drunks wandering around in the evening, but now they're pulling off heists that even dare to target the most reputable and secure clans in the kingdom. They're so widespread that even after the news has picked up on their exploits and started reporting on the organization, drawing in even more police resources to deal with them, the cartel hasn't shown any signs of slowing down anytime soon. With that in mind, even Mom and Dad have decided to bring Sandy with them to keep them safe in the market since… probably well before I was born. Come to think of it, taking the clan's leading bodyguard with them into the market might've been just the opportunity the cartel was looking for to hit us.

While I was helping Sanzang with his garden before Aurora came over for another spar, we heard signs of a scuffle coming from Dad's forge and knew that the cartel had finally decided to hit us at home. With Huntsman-grade weapons at risk of falling into the hands of criminals who'd no doubt use them to extort the people out of house and home for fear of being harmed, I knew I had to do something. Sanzang and Pigsy were there already, and they aren't pushovers by any means, but they also aren't prodigies and future Huntsmen in the prime of their lives like me; and what's more, they didn't exactly have an edge on gangsters wielding Dad's weapons compared to their own. I'm sure that they didn't intend to kill us, they probably only intended to just rob us while they thought we were out, but I still don't think I could've stopped them from getting away with dozens of weapons without Aurora's timely intervention.

Any one of them had next to no chance against me alone in a fight, and with Aurora and her cables added into the mix, they didn't last more than maybe ten minutes before they were all either knocked out, running for the hills, or being stopped dead in their tracks by Sandy as he and my parents got home. It wasn't until Mom and Dad finished hugging and fussing over me to see if I was hurt that I noticed Aurora was late, and it seemed that even her family hadn't escaped the cartel's eye. If I'd noticed the scorch marks on my best friend's armor and the soot in her usually brilliant blue hair earlier, I might've ended up breaking more than just the Auras of some of the cartel's goons.

Since the Borealis Clan is something of a world-renowned artisan clan with a knack for painting, sculpting, and setting fashion trends with their works, it wasn't a surprise to me to hear that some of her clan's distributors had been targeted for robberies recently. What was a surprise to hear was that once her parents stepped up their security detail, the bastards took to burning their shops to the ground to try and intimidate them. Aurora had only just finished saving one of her family's shops from a few of the gangsters on her way to see me when she busted in to help deal with the cartel here. Judging by the number of people they sent after her clan versus mine, I think its safe to say that they're more focused on consolidating whatever weapons they can get before they move on to full-blown extortion. Despite there being quite a few losses to her clan, the cartel's attacks seem to have started petering out over the past few days. Whether that be because of them licking their wounds after we thwarted their attacks on our clans or they're taking inventory of what successes they made elsewhere I don't know, but what I do know is that we're no longer waiting to attend Haven Academy.

Instead, we've decided to go to Beacon Academy – for many reasons. Maybe the most obvious and important to our parents is that since we've probably painted a target on our backs for thwarting the Liumang Cartel's attacks, it'd probably be better for Aurora and me to get out of the city until the police and Huntsmen get the cartel under control. While it'll buy our parents some peace of mind, the change of setting also a pretty positive thing for us overall. It'll be a whole new cultural atmosphere to embrace, it'll give us the travel experience any good Huntsmen would need in the field, and most importantly, it has a curriculum we both can agree is better for us than Haven's.

Where Haven focuses more on practicing your form and honing one's Semblance against your peers, Beacon provides more of a focus on fighting the creatures of Grimm firsthand. Sure, it helps to know how to fight things other than Grimm when you're a Huntress who may end up taking jobs to defend a village from bandits and all, but Huntresses and Huntsmen are protectors first, and the most common threat you're going to find yourself facing isn't another person, but the Grimm. That's the difference between Haven and Beacon, and I think I speak for both of us when I say the change of setting will do us some good. Besides, at least in Vale your family name has less of an impact on your status in the school than here at home, but that's just a minor bonus compared to its overall superior curriculum and the peace of mind it gives our parents. It'll be interesting to meet dozens of new faces while we're over there, if nothing else.

Even as the sun sets, and I know I should probably get back to packing since Beacon's semester is gonna start soon, I can't help but feel like I'm gonna miss Mistral a lot as time goes on. I'm gonna miss Sanzang's calm council when we're gardening together with Mom, Pigsy's way of making cooking into an art form, Sandy's larger-than-life stories from on the road, and my parents' council most of all. The CCTS is no substitute for having those closest to your heart with you in the flesh, even if you can keep in touch with them with the towers. It isn't all heartache though, since I'll have Aurora with me. After all, the future can't be all bad when I have my best friend with me, right?

Anyway, I should probably start packing again so I'm not running on three hours of sleep when we finally have to leave. Next stop, Beacon Academy!

* * *

Beacon Academy:

Something about traveling aboard a fully decked-out airship just can't be beat in my eyes. Unlike every other's nations air buses and technological marvels, Mistral's simple elegance expressed in a flying variant of the caravel I feel is far more comfortable to travel in than a can of metal – even if that means you need to miss out on some pleasantries such as the news or air conditioning. Even though the trip was annoyingly boring when Aurora and I were too tired to continue sparring to pass the time, I do think it was totally worth it when we arrived in Vale. It may not be the one-with-nature architecture we're used to, but the monolithic stone buildings stretching into the sky in the distance was more than impressive to witness as we came in to land at Beacon. I'd heard of Beacon Tower being impressive and far larger than the CCT Tower in Haven, but I don't think anything could've prepared us for witnessing it in the flesh, even if it was really far away and we haven't yet had the chance to stand in its presence ourselves when we arrived.

The only unfortunate part of our arrival is that I didn't have enough time to visit the city itself before Aurora sorta half-dragged me deeper into Beacon to get settled in time for orientation. I swear I would've killed to visit some of the local shops I've heard Sandy gush about in the past today, but she was right. It's not like it took us forever to find the main hall first-year students were supposed to attend – even though there wasn't a single map in sight for the damn school's layout at the landing docks – but it was the sheer mass of people that were there that slowed us down. The crowds of people here definitely made themselves known that for sure; in Mistral, you could easily slide by an entire street's worth of people and not notice anyone particularly interesting, but here? Here I couldn't even walk ten feet without seeing some interesting new people or weapons, even if some of them were interesting in somewhat… odd ways.

For instance, every typical jock stereotype you could imagine was present when we arrived at the docks, but every single person expressing those traits had something that made them stand out. For one group it was the fact they all wore old-fashioned Vale armor, for another duo it was being both being high-caliber rough and tumble students from Vacuo who still distinguished themselves from the other students by what they wore. The dark purple-haired one wore what I could only imagine could be dark Atlas-inspired armor with obvious omissions of the bulkier plates to save money, while his blonde-haired companion seemed to be the brains behind the duo, what with his lack of armor in favor of more comfortable clothing and the way he carried himself. The most distinguishing part of them though must have been their weapons, that's for sure. The one with the armor had one beast of a high-impact rocket launcher on his back that he just walked around with like it weighed nothing, and his friend seemed to have a knack for sharpshooting judging by his Dust musket. I could go on forever about just how diverse the selection of people was in the crowd, but I think it's more worth it to write about just whoever made a strong first impression. Part of me regrets not getting the names of that duo, but another doesn't. After all, I'm not quite sure if two less-than-refined students from Vacuo would be a suitable compliment to my own and Aurora's more graceful style of combat – even if that blonde guy seemed to have one hell of a sense of humor to go with his good looks.

I might have to pull back on the expectations of well-mannered, kind, and graceful teammates in the future the more I think about it. The only other people I could even hope to describe as "kind" either ditched their little sister or ended up sneezing and detonating a collection of dust crystals within a few minutes of landing. I say that, but then again, the first day at a new school is always pretty hectic, so maybe there's more going on in their heads than is apparent. Yang – big sister of one Ruby Rose – probably was trying to get her little sister out of her shell and make new friends, not really ditching Ruby out of any dislike for her that's for sure. For all the girl's quirks, I can say with certainty that Ruby's the closest thing to an unconditionally kind person I've met yet at Beacon. She's here to help people the best she can, and even tried to make up to the one and only 'holier-than-everyone-else' Weiss Schnee despite the heiress being nothing if not snobby to her after we left for the main hall.

Speaking of the main hall, it seems like the faculty more than expected a few students to get lost before beginning their orientation, judging by the fact when we arrived there was no more than maybe thirty people there. The vacancy gave Aurora and I a little while to decompress, take off our bags, and store away our weapons before the faculty arrived, though I do regret allowing Aurora to root me down in that one spot for so long. When Headmaster Ozpin finally showed up, his speech lasted little more than a few minutes at the very most, and the only 'productive' thing we were told to do was spend the night in the ballroom and get ready for initiation tomorrow.

Even if we were left people watching for most of the day today, at least the baseline calm has given me ample time to write in my journal before I pass out like Aurora. Or at least, I'd like to pass out and catch some sleep, but Ruby and Weiss are at it again arguing over gods know what. I don't know how Ruby and her big sister talking to a bookworm somehow turned into a sibling catfight that the heiress somehow felt the need to involve herself in, but what I do know is that I can't wait for the arguing to end. Meditation may give me a little more energy at the start of every day, but it's no substitute for a good night's sleep. What I wouldn't give to be a heavy sleeper like Aurora right now.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Welp, I suppose its time I answer a few questions about some names and stuff huh? First I'll start with a fun fact; Liumang means rogue/ruffian in Mandarin, and despite it being super on the nose with it being the name of a criminal cartel, considering Ruby Rose is a pretty on the nose name as well concerning her color scheme, I think I could get away with a little fun usage of a foreign language. Now on to the important-ish things! Yes, I did name some of the Malachite Clan's elders after characters from a Journey to the West, but no, they do not have a relation to Wukong's family. Also yes, I KNOW the Malachites already exist, but by the time I made this story I didn't even remember they existed! They're such a minor duo of characters I think I can hope for some forgiveness for sharing a last name; besides, it suited my valuable green stone naming scheme for Jade I had cooking up. Speaking of, yes, I know Emerald is a person but when I made Opal, Emerald the villain I hadn't yet heard of in my marathon of seasons 1-2, and again it does suit her and her parents' naming schemes rather well. Beryl and Peridot being her father and mother's names, respectively.**

 **Also, I'm an idiot. I deleted this whole chapter by accident by cutting the whole document and then copying another document without thinking, so I had to make a mad dash to write down everything I remembered from a 2k+ word document before it escaped me. So… that was fun. That having been said, I'm happier with this version than what I remember of the original. Happy accidents, eh?**


	3. Team Iridescence

Team Iridescence:

Part of me thinks I should've put two and two together when it came to Beacon's idea of an initiation. It's a far more combat experience focused school and Professor Ozpin told us to meet him and Goodwitch at Beacon Cliff, so it sorta just logically followed that we'd be going through a sort of trial by combat to prove ourselves and form our teams, and yet it didn't really sink in until he outright told us our mission objective. We were to enter – or rather, be catapulted into – the Emerald Forest, make our way to the temple at the end of it, retrieve one of the relics there, and return to the cliffside, fighting through any Grimm that stood in our way. Whoever we made eye contact with first would end up being your partner for the rest of the initiation and your time at Beacon, which was a not-so-fun element of randomness added into the mission. Nonetheless, most of us seemed more than ready to be rocketed through the air with our own unique landing strategies; but from what I saw before needing to focus on my own air control, Ruby's poor friend Jaune seemed like he was about to hurl when he was flung into the air. It was one exhilarating way to get my blood pumping in the morning, that's for sure.

I can't say I was surprised to see Aurora land pretty much right next to me when we landed, but I will say _how_ she landed was the impressive part, not that my own landing was lacking in style. One explosive arrow to clear out whatever brush would tear up my clothes and a double jump into that newfound gap in the forest and I was right as rain, free to gaze up at the rest of the students that decided to keep flying forward. I was watching Yang as she seemed to be having the time of her life when Aurora began her landing with the help of her Semblance. She turned herself into a corkscrew of cables protecting her from whatever trees she plowed through on her descent before swinging around the tallest trees' trunks to slow down, right before she landed with a graceful flip. If there's one thing I can always count on her for it's to keep track of my movements and have my back in doing so, so of course she'd end up landing next to me just to try and one-up me.

We had more than enough opportunities to try and show off to one another too. The Emerald Forest was absolutely riddled with Grimm – mostly Beowolves and Ursai, but real Grimm all the same. The poor things couldn't even touch us with how mobile we were, and if it weren't for the adrenaline in our systems yelling at us to try and prove our mettle in combat, I think we would've been the first ones to make it to the temple. While I was finishing off an Ursa she'd flung into the air with an upwards strike from Emerald and Aurora was tossing a few Beowolves into the air for easy shots from Sapphire, we were both nearly bowled over by the sound of a rocket going off and need to dodge the Ursa that was sent flying by its source.

The same rugged duo from Vacuo I noticed when we first got here happened to have a similar path as us, and Aurora ended up suggesting we all properly introduce ourselves before we continued. The first thing the blonde – Lux Griseo – said when he emerged from the tree line is that he didn't particularly care about where we came from or our histories; so long as we gave them respect when they earned it, they'd return the favor and we'd get along great. It was one interesting first impression from such an otherwise funny and good-looking guy to say the least, but given they came from Vacuo, I suppose it made sense for them to establish some common ground first and foremost. It turns out he and his taller companion Tenebris are not only brothers, but twins. Now that I had a moment to look at them without dozens of other people around, I finally noticed that somehow, Lux had not only procured a navy-blue frock coat to go over his normal dark clothes, but he also found the time to stitch on a gold trim along the outline and tack on some similarly colored epaulets. As if somehow modifying a Beacon Academy wintertime uniform overnight to wear it in the Emerald Forest as his combat gear and possessing a nigh-encyclopedic knowledge of the Grimm wasn't enough to prove his ingenuity, his and his brother's skill in combat certainly helped him prove himself.

His Dust musket and his brother's rocket launcher (which they affectionately named Wiz and Boomstick if I recall correctly) turned every Beowolf we encountered into a smoking husk before either Aurora or myself could even think about stepping in, and I wouldn't even dare to imagine how durable Tenebris' armor has to be to survive some of the point-blank rocket blasts he pulls casually. With that firepower in tow, we made excellent time to the temple, ending up being the tied second place duos to make it there – with Yang and her new friend Blake beating us by only a few minutes. Lux and I picked up the matching white queen chess piece relics, which as it turned out, ended up playing a much larger role in the formation of our team earlier today than we initially thought they would. Before we could even remark on the coincidence of us picking up a matching pair of relics, an absolute circus opened in front of us from the rest of the forest.

One insane bundle of quirkiness and energy named Nora Valkyrie came literally riding out on top of an Ursa alongside her teammate Lie Ren, not even letting a heartbeat pass before she dashed over and retrieved their own relic. Right as she finished introducing herself and began skipping off to join him, Ruby and – unfortunately for her – Weiss came literally falling from the sky after hitching a ride on a Nevermore's talons, Aurora catching the both of them with her cables. After the two of them landed and I prayed the chaos was done for the time being, of course the one and only legendary Pyrrha Nikos came charging out of the tree line alongside Jaune, who was desperately clinging onto a Death Stalker's stinger before getting flung over to the temple thanks to the Grimm's thrashing. Seeing as his claws were frozen by Weiss' glyphs and Lux's rifle, I think Jaune could've more escaped more gracefully than being flung across the clearing, but that's just me.

It couldn't have been more than a moment after everyone else retrieved their relics that we were off running for the sweet escape the cliffside offered us from the Grimm. Before we were in the clear though, both the Nevermore Ruby and Weiss had pissed off and the Death Stalker we thought was securely frozen in place had come back around to pay us another visit – and they brought friends. Ren, Pyrrha, Jaune, and Nora ended up fighting the Death Stalker, Ruby and her sister's duos took to dealing with the Nevermore, and the rest of us held the line against the tide of very large and very angry looking Ursai the two larger Grimm seemed to be drawing in.

It was in the middle of all that chaos that Lux and Tenebris' Semblances finally showed themselves, though I do wish Lux had told us about his _before_ we were fighting for our lives against a seemingly endless tide of Ursai. Tenebris' Semblance gives him nigh-superhuman strength (which explains how he wields his rocket launcher like a damn battering ram when in melee combat but makes it seem like it weighs nothing) and durability alongside the armor Lux invented for him, while Lux's Semblance allows him to make and manipulate wind currents – letting him throw Grimm over the cliff beneath us, help him line up perfect shots, provide him an easy getaway, or just generally be a useful tool in combat.

At least, that's what his Semblance let him do when he _wasn't_ recklessly drawing attention in onto himself like a maniac – but I'm just hoping that him endangering himself was just a one-off thing. Otherwise fighting alongside him in the future could prove to be one nightmare of a task, to put it lightly. I get that he might want to protect his brother and all, but given Tenebris' Semblance and armor, I don't think him needing to draw the Grimm's ire is entirely necessary to keep him safe. At least his quips and spirit kept us distracted from the fact he was teasing the damn Ursai into chasing him towards the cliffside so he could blow them off – or else I probably would've thrown him off the cliff myself for him basically getting himself cornered.

Once we saw everyone else had escaped and I told Lux to seal off our getaway with whatever ice Dust shots he had left, we made our own hasty exit as the ruins we'd been fighting on crumbled under the weight of all the Grimm that'd been slain. I was nearly worried that Tenebris wasn't fast enough to make it out, but seeing as Boomstick doubled as a thruster to help him charge forward when on his back, it was clear they'd already thought this sort of scenario through before. One way-too-long-for-my-liking climb up the cliffside later, and we were in the clear, albeit in last place when it came to escaping the forest out of the three impromptu teams present. Not that it mattered, judging by the compliments and impressed looks Ruby and a few others offered us for holding out so long. Looking back down at the evaporating sea of Grimm, it was no wonder they were at least a little impressed. It may have just been Ursai, but we must've slain what could only have been described as a swarm of them.

That wasn't the end of the day either though – oh no, there was still the team building and naming ceremony to attend once we dragged ourselves back to campus. As it turns out, unlike Haven, which lets people more or less lets teams compose themselves based upon friendships in the first week or two of classes, Beacon relies on matching relics to decide the makeup of each team of four. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang's team, led by none other than Ruby Rose herself, was named Team RWBY by Ozpin, while Jaune ended up the leader of Team JNPR. While I was busy wondering if the relics we retrieved were even relics at all and not just random chess pieces Ozpin had laying around, we were called up last, and my heart leaped to my chest when I heard I was to be the leader of Team Iridescence. Given Lux's knowledge of the Grimm and his fighting style (when he wasn't drawing attention to himself like Tenebris' better suited to do) allowing him to look at a battle from a further range than anyone else, I thought for sure he was going to be leader, but I guess that's just another surprise I have to add to the list of today's events.

I nearly thought he'd name us Team MALT, but given our colors ranging from blue to yellow to purple to green (all with some underlying black here and there), I think Ozpin might've chosen Iridescence as our team name make it clear we were anything but dominated by earthen colors. Besides, given half of us are from Vacuo and half of us are from Mistral, I like to think that the name is sorta symbolic – signifying our team being a melting pot of both color and fighting styles, thus metaphorically tying in to iridescence. The only thing that's impressed me more than the fact everything seems to have lined up perfectly in terms of team names and our experiences fighting in the Emerald Forest is the fact Ozpin has the skill to come up with these names on the fly. It's kinda insane when I think about it, the amount of wit he must have has got to be out of this world because every team name still means something, in the end.

After that final high of a ceremony was done and over with and we all decided to _properly_ introduce ourselves to one another, we made our way into our dorms to enjoy some well-earned rest and relaxation. As it turns out, Lux and Tenebris' first words to us rang true, and although they both were obviously interested to hear about my own and Aurora's pasts, it's not like their opinions of us hinged on where we were born – at least not entirely. When we finally finished our stories, the twins decided to grace us with a shortened version of their own to let us catch some decent shuteye, not that it wasn't enthralling all the same. Even the fact they were born to a mixed Faunus and human couple – but only Lux inheriting his mother's eagle-eye vision, luckily (or unluckily, depending on where you live) for Tenebris – was interesting to hear about. At the very least, it was nice to know that I wasn't the only Faunus on the team.

Now, concerning their life in Vacuo proper – while it was no surprise to hear that their life there's rife with fighting for every scrap of respect and Lien you could earn, it was a surprise to hear was that they were an entirely self-made prodigious duo. Since their parents were often gone trying to make a living as Huntsmen, as soon as they were old enough to fend for themselves by Vacuo's standards, they either had to fight to make a living or pray that their parents' missions always were successful. They discovered their Semblances soon after they had to begin fending for themselves, with Tenebris becoming something of a brawler to bring in Lien whenever their parents were having a bad run of luck on their missions. Lux spent his days at the same time studying and reading up on everything he could and rationed his share of the winnings to develop their weapons and Tenebris' armor. He probably would've made his own special suit of armor too if it wasn't for the fact they both wanted out of Vacuo as soon as they were armed and ready enough to make the journey. So, around the same time Aurora and I were fighting off the Liumang Cartel, the two of them were spending the last of their Lien not on some combat gear for Lux, but instead a one-way ticket to Beacon Academy. While they didn't plan on going to Beacon as their first choice – what with Shade Academy being closer to home – their parents convinced them to instead come here because of the natural defenses around Vale making Beacon a far safer place to train than Vacuo. Considering some of the stories I've read about Vacuo outside of Shade, I'm kinda inclined to agree with that sentiment; and judging by the fact they'd grown up idolizing, and being raised by, Huntsmen, it seemed to be the only logical career they'd love to pursue – and the only career that would even make use of their skills to their fullest extent.

It's clear to both of us that they mean well to those who earn their respect, and that they always have a baseline lukewarm opinion of those they encounter, but I don't think either Aurora nor myself have any clue to earn their true friendship and respect. If I had to guess, maybe they just need to see that we're more than just some upper-class Huntsmen wannabees that don't care about anyone beneath us, or maybe they just wanna see that we're equals to them in a fight against something other than the Grimm, but either way, it's gonna take time. Hopefully it'll be sooner than later though, since we're gonna be spending the next four years here together and all.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **To answer the unspoken question of the day, yes, I tried to make their names turn into something relating to a color, but the best thing I could come up with given their names was MALT. My little paragraph of Opal's writing about her view of that potential name is basically my own way of striking down that name. Could I have remade their names entirely? Sure, but I absolutely adore the names I made for them, so… yeah. I still think Team Iridescence is a cool name despite not following the very strict naming scheme RWBY's established.**

 **Also… man, I did** _ **not**_ **expect this entry to be as long as it turned out to be. I suppose if we're all lucky this'll end up being the new base length for my OC's journal entries eh? Not too likely, but its nice to see this story's coming so naturally to me that I end up making way-above-average length entries for myself sometimes.**


	4. Bonding By Combat & Forever Fall

Bonding by Combat:

Well it only took the first days' worth of classes for there to be an obnoxious amount of team drama, at least so far as my own and Ruby's teams are concerned. After catching about maybe 5 hours of sleep last night, all four of us wound up sharing the same first class of the day, studying the Grimm with none other than Professor Port. Even though we were all obviously still tired from yesterday, we still made it there on time, which is nearly more than Team RWBY could say. They barely arrived in time for class, which I think was a factor in Weiss' poor mood later on during Port's lecture.

It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes into his lecture when Ruby started goofing off with some not-so-flattering drawings of Port, and since I had nothing better to do as he was going on about some of his adventures in his youth and not saying anything important, I enjoyed the distraction. Weiss wasn't having any of it though, and so before even Lux could raise his hand to try and show off his skills against a Boarbatusk the professor brought out, Weiss volunteered instead. If the death glares she was giving Ruby earlier weren't proof enough of the icy relationship those two have had since day one here, then her openly disregarding Ruby's advice before _and_ during the fight would tell you everything you had to know about those two. I would've probably gotten myself involved in trying to mediate whatever bad blood those two had if it wasn't for the drama that happened just after class between the Lux and me.

As we left the lecture hall, I said – without thinking – that Professor Port really lacked a lot of showmanship when it came to telling his tales in an educational setting. I don't know how in the name of the gods I didn't notice it before, but Lux clearly idolizes Port. From everything he knows about the Grimm coming from Port's guides and stories to the way his combat uniform positively screams inspiration from the professor's earlier Huntsman years, it was obvious he'd been trying to emulate Port's larger-than-life persona on the path to becoming a Huntsman himself. I suppose I was just too busy with the whole 'fighting for my life and becoming team leader' thing to notice yesterday. Lux therefore didn't take too kindly to my critique, even though I just sort of spouted it out after comparing Port to theatre back home. I tried to make up for the slip by pointing out Port made up for his lacking showmanship in heart, but Lux didn't really seem to care. Things up until then had been lukewarm between Aurora and I and the brothers, but I guess critiquing their shared childhood idol didn't buy us any respect at that point.

I will admit I didn't exactly help defuse the situation as it went on, however. When Lux started making fun of our heritage and accused us of never having to truly fight for anything important in Mistral, that's when our infighting really began. I bit back that the two of them wouldn't know the fine elements of art if it hit them in the face and I could easily take out someone as careless in combat as Lux any day of the week, Tenebris not-so-subtly implied he was gonna punch me in the face… it only went downhill from there. It was only by Aurora's mediation that we managed to get something productive done today, turning the argument into a sort of trial by ordeal on both sides of the argument.

Since the twins seemed convinced Aurora and I were too pampered to handle ourselves in a fight other than in one against the Grimm, we set out to prove we were more than qualified to be called their equals. Seeing as they came from Vacuo, we arranged for a sort of tournament to be held so that we could either make or break our claims in front of a crowd while we fought it out. What a crowd it was, too. Not only was Team RWBY and JNPR there – even though they seemed more nervous we were about to legitimately harm one another than excited to see us spar – but a solid few dozen other students came alongside Professor Goodwitch to see who would win. I think I even saw Lien changing hands in a few bets on who'd win each round of the miniature tournament. Goodwitch was too busy monitoring our Aura meters before giving us the go-ahead to notice, at any rate.

Round one was Aurora versus Tenebris, and boy was I surprised to see just how durable the guy's armor really was. For the longest time it seemed like Aurora's agility and inability to be slowed down by Tenebris' attacks would win her the match, but her gunfire did little more than scratch his armor. So with no other option, she had to engage Tenebris in melee combat, and since she had her cables capable of functioning effectively as extra limbs in combat, I thought she'd probably find a way to still win. Boy was I wrong. Tenebris refused to budge from where he stood, and before she could even try to fling him into the air for a heavy strike he broke her Aura with a single slamming of Boomstick into her chest followed by a point-blank rocket blast. Tenebris seemed to not really have much of an issue with her after the round was over since she fought well, but at the time I was too busy wondering how I was gonna beat him and Lux to notice his change in tune.

Round two was me versus Lux, which I admit made him look quite a bit out of his element. Usually Lux had the advantage of facing foes that didn't know where he was, were too far away to do anything, or didn't know how to deflect bullets like I do, but in the close-quarters sparring ring we were holding the tournament, he was thoroughly outclassed. It was a complete role reversal from the previous round, with him being the one incapable of landing a hit on me, and even if he lined up a good shot I was always able to deflect or dodge it in time. Once I noticed he was afraid to try and make use of his bayonet since he lacked close-quarters combat skills, I went in for the decisive strike and sent his Aura quickly into the red. Granted, his Semblance made getting to him a hassle, but it wasn't any kind of gap a swift dash towards him from the walls couldn't close. I found out later today that Lux would've been fine with calling the tournament right then and there – we'd proved our mettle in his eyes in the opening two fights – but I was too wrapped up in my own head to notice the offer and the crowd seemed too amped up to let us call it quits, so we ended up continuing anyway.

The final round was – of course – me versus Tenebris, and it must have been the most exciting match I've had against anyone other than Aurora in the past few months. I already knew that Tenebris' armor seemed to have no weak spot to bullets, so it followed that my arrows wouldn't do a damn thing either, but what I didn't know until soon into the match was that there was still a chance to break through his defenses. Between every shot (or swing) from his rocket launcher, I went in to strike at his armor before creating another gap between us. It took a while and neither of us were getting anywhere, but my brains overcame his brawn in the end. Even though his armor was nigh-impervious to bullets, I figured out the armor's joints are where I could cause some damage. So, with that in mind I vaulted over him and leapt off his back, lined up an explosive arrow at where some armor plates met on his back, let it loose, and watched his Aura plummet into the red. It all happened so quickly I don't think anyone other than Aurora and Lux noticed exactly what I did, but the people in the crowd either cheered or booed all the same, and Lien started subtly changing hands as I helped Tenebris up and he clapped me on the back in congratulations.

After we finally settled down from the adrenaline high and we finished talking to our friends from the Emerald Forest, Lux conceded on both his and his brother's behalf that while we might've grown up in a cushy city setting, that doesn't mean we didn't prove ourselves in our matches. Since we still had plenty of time left in the day, Aurora made sure we took advantage of their end of the bargain when we were setting up the tournament. As it turns out, even though they were very apprehensive at first about entertaining our love of theatre and music as their end of our trials by ordeal, the two of them have some remarkable potential in the fine arts. Even if we seem to only be able to coax them into singing in front of us and Team RWBY and JNPR right now, I like to think that given time they're gonna end up just as entranced by a love of music as Aurora and I are already. If nothing else, it was a fun surprise to see that the two guys from Vacuo have some hidden talent and appreciation for the finer things in life. Well, other than Tenebris' preexisting love of food, but I like to think theatre and music rank higher on the list of fine arts than cooking, at least unless Pigsy is involved. Gods forbid Tenebris and him ever meet – he'd likely never let the poor pig-eared Pigsy go if he was treated to even a single meal from the master chef back home.

In a way, our earlier argument was a blessing. Even though they've only opened up and been really friendly towards me and Aurora for the past few hours, I can't imagine spending the rest of my time here at Beacon without having those two on my growing list of close friends. Lux in particular really did change for the better, I think. Despite being as obnoxiously reckless in our fight today as he was back in the Emerald Forest, he does seem to be self-aware and kind enough to know when he's in the wrong. Him making a point of it to apologize to me and compliment me on my skill would've been enough to convince me of that, coming from him, but hearing him promise to try and reel in his over-the-top tendencies in combat for me was just icing on the cake. I'll probably have to see it to believe it, but it does warm my heart in a weird way to see he's trying to change a little bit. It's probably just the part of me that looks out for everyone's well-being that's giving me the butterflies when he said that though – or at least, I hope so.

At any rate, having them on the same page as me and Aurora makes me look forward to seeing what tomorrow will bring us, so long as I manage to put down this damned journal tonight before it hits some unholy hour.

* * *

Forever Fall:

Over the past few days, I've discovered Jaune Arc is without a doubt one interesting oddity of a Huntsman in training. While he's never excelled in combat, he has the heart of a lion when it comes to protecting people, and our field trip to Forever Fall proved that to me.

Although he'd been sort of scarce in the days leading up to the field trip, I don't think he was hanging out with that brute Cardin because he had any kind of friendship with him. In fact, Jaune even told me a little while ago that Cardin browbeat him into doing all kinds of assignments for him as a sort of payback for what my team, or more specifically, what _one_ of our team ended up doing to him a while back. Tenebris and him had sparred awhile back as a display of how to incorporate checking your Aura in the middle of combat so you don't end up getting yourself killed, and the bully ended up getting wrecked by Tenebris in minutes. Since he knew he wasn't anywhere close to a match for any of our team, the slimy son of a snake decided to pick on the most defenseless of our circle of friends – Jaune.

Not that it was a surprise or anything – Cardin's had a track record of picking on those either too weak or too unsuspecting to fight back. Case in point being him pulling on poor Velvet's bunny ears just to laugh at her and prove they're real, or calling me and Lux names in the halls whenever he catches either one of us away from everyone else. If it wasn't for Lux stopping me from starting a fight with Cardin I guarantee I would've knocked a few teeth out of the bastard's arrogant smile for calling me 'kitten' like I was a damned _animal_ for sticking up for Velvet. At least Cardin had enough brain cells to leave her alone once Aurora invited her over to share breakfast with the rest of us, since he's too much of a coward to pick on anyone other than those he thinks he can brute force his way through.

Anyway, back to Jaune. A while after we were done collecting the sap we were there for – and done convincing Tenebris not to eat it all like Nora did with hers – Cardin's goons came running out of the forest shouting that Cardin and Jaune were being attacked by an Ursa, and that Ruby, Pyrrha, and Weiss had gone to help. By the time we arrived at the scene, Jaune had already dispatched the beast and saved Cardin, getting the bastard off his case for the foreseeable future. When we got back to the school that night and I was wandering around looking for a quiet space to write in while the twins were wrestling over some nonsense, I found Jaune on the rooftop training with Pyrrha. Even though I never got the full story from either of them as to what exactly happened before me and my team arrived on the scene, I did get to learn Jaune's trying to hone his skills in combat a lot more.

Since he's a friend and there were still a few hours left before it got too late, I tried to help tutor him with the tips and tricks I'd picked up in my training. It… didn't work out well. Jaune's style of swordplay is absolutely incompatible with my skillset's ability to teach. As it turns out, my techniques with a katana-bow don't exactly translate all that well to Jaune's sword and shield style of combat, but we still got something productive done tonight. Pyrrha may be able to teach him the fundamentals of combat in a way he understands, but I gave him a tool just as valuable in my eyes tonight. Seeing as he'd been stressed out of his mind for a myriad of reasons for a while now, I decided to teach him how to meditate. I told him to meditate, or at least take a step back when things seemed insurmountable, and even though we only had a little while to meditate together before things got awkward with Pyrrha hovering over us, I think Jaune was telling the truth when he told me that he was gonna make the most of my advice.

I never thought I'd meet a Huntsman in training that would be so inept at combat in their first few days at Beacon but still come across as endearing enough to me for me to try and help them out with some life advice, and yet here I am, writing away about the loveable goofball training with Pyrrha in front of me. Even though I'm starting to miss home more and more now that I'm here, I think that with the Aurora and the circle of friends I have here with me, that homesickness is gonna hit way less hard than it could.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Hooray for Opal and Aurora earning two new friends (and more later on)! I figured it'd be for the best that Iridescence also have a problem with their team like RWBY did, and I think with half of them being from Vacuo and the other half being from Mistral, their super opposed upbringings would be the big point of contention between the two of them. Was the reason for the conflict petty? Maybe. But so was Weiss' reaction to Ruby just trying to be a nice person, so I suppose the equally overblown teenage reactions of Iridescence are fitting. Besides, it was a blast to imagine what a mock tournament between Iridescence's team members would be like.**

 **Also, you may be wondering why I bothered with Forever Fall when everything seemed to just float by without much weight, right? Well, I didn't wanna omit Forever Fall because it was a good opportunity for Opal and Jaune to have their relationship established. Since I love Jaune too much for his small arc to be skipped over entirely, I tried to condense the happenings of those 4 episodes, and I** _ **think**_ **I succeeded. So far as Opal is concerned, she's only as well informed as the rest of the gang as to what happened in Forever Fall – which is to say, not at all informed, so I think her recollection of the events there in her journal was reasonable.**


	5. The Stray & The White Fang

The Stray:

It feels like just yesterday I was in Mistral thinking about the Vytal Festival being held at the school I was going to attend, and yet already there are dozens of new students from the other kingdoms arriving in preparation for the festivities. Seeing as a large portion of Vacuo's student body was arriving today, it wasn't a surprise when Lux and Tenebris dragged me and Aurora down to the docks to help them look for some familiar faces. What was a surprise though was seeing RWBY there too; evidently, Weiss' just as interested with the possibility of meeting new people as she is scoping out their skillsets upon arrival, so she and her team can gain an edge in the tournament. Since their company would give Aurora and me the chance to do something other than stare at the docks without a clue as to who we were looking for, we readily banded together our two teams for the day. Not that there was any of the lack of excitement I expected when we got to the docks or anything.

We ran into a Dust store a little while before Vacuo's first ships started docking, and thanks to the police's lacking inside voices, we overheard everything. Evidently, the place was robbed clean of its Dust, but not a single Lien was taken during the robbery, which in of itself was odd. Even the Liumang Cartel in their weaker days weren't bone-headed enough to leave behind any money during their attempted robberies, so I sorta just assumed this robbery was some small-time idiots until the cops mentioned this was only one of a string of similar robberies happening across Vale. Weiss took their assumption of the White Fang being behind the robbery in stride, but me and Lux agreed that she shouldn't be so sure – even if there are a lot of nutjobs in the organization. It didn't help that Weiss' justification for her assumption was that all Faunus are criminals either, especially when she simply waved off me and Lux calling her out on being so damned discriminatory as us being "exceptions to the rule." I mean, Dust robberies happen all around the world, and all because the cops think it might be the White Fang doesn't mean that they're behind it – they're called 'suspects' for a reason after all! At least Blake seemed to be on the logical side of the fence me and Lux wound up making so far as the Faunus are concerned, judging by how much Weiss and her were arguing.

I was tempted to step into RWBY's argument when Aurora butted in for me. She suggested that Roman Torchwick – the same dapper guy Ruby stopped a few weeks ago that got her admitted into Beacon early – might've been behind the robberies, since the lack of Lien being stolen seemed to be his style. After Ruby gave Aurora a high-five because she was about to suggest the same thing, things finally seemed to be looking up between everyone. The argument turned into a casual conversation, and even Tenebris stopped looking for familiar faces for a little bit to join in. I think she would've begun changing her tune entirely regarding Faunus – at least in some small measure – right then and there if it wasn't for a Faunus stowaway popping up out of the docks right as she was about to respond to Lux explaining how literally anyone would act like the White Fang if pushed to the limit.

Well, that stowaway turned out to none other than Sun Wukong himself – master troublemaker and prankster me and Aurora used to share some classes with back in Sanctum. Knowing him, he probably was just too impatient to come with the rest of Haven's class, so he decided to leave on his own, even if that meant stowing away and not paying for a ticket like a _normal_ person. I think we could've defused the situation if we had called out to Sun before Weiss decided to have us all chase after him like we were sent by the cops, but Schnee's urging ended up making us lose him in the city entirely. He is a master of parkour after all, and neither me nor Aurora really wanted to chase him, so no shock there. Lux and Tenebris' energetic contribution to the chase of the presumed 'criminal' didn't help things either, but it did tell me that they were as clueless as everyone else as to who he was.

I was about to explain to everyone who he was so that we could set the record straight before I noticed why our chase stopped. Weiss managed to run right into this... really _odd_ girl and ended up stopping the rest of her team dead in their tracks because of it. The girl – Penny – seemed like she'd either never had a friend in her life or had one too many screws loose for me to have anything but a cautiously warm first impression of her. She didn't seem to mean any harm, but the way she just casually jumped up from the ground and cut us off casually as we left without us noticing her moving when Ruby called her 'friend' just comes across like she's three steps behind everyone else when it comes to socializing. Considering I was thoroughly creeped out by Penny, Vacuo's ships were bound to arrive any minute, and Weiss was already arguing with Blake again over something involving the Faunus, I quickly took Lux's advice to leave then. Sure, I could've pointed out the person we were chasing was Sun and try to defuse the situation, but I'm pretty sure Weiss would pretend I was defending Sun's breaking the law instead of seeing my attempt to resolve their bickering. Gods bless Ruby and Yang's patience with that girl.

Even though Lux and Tenebris didn't find a single face they recognized in the crowd of students, it was nice to get out of RWBY's hair for the time being. That, and it finally gave us all some time to rest and relax in Vale proper for, well, probably the first time all year. It started out great too… for the most part. While we went to go grab some tubs of ice cream from some famous store in the commercial district, we did have to awkwardly wait around as Professor Port wound up ordering an ungodly amount of ice cream before us – but at least Tenebris and Lux got a kick out of seeing Port in a casual setting. Other than that kinda awkward moment, though, things went great! We enjoyed our ice cream in peace, went on a tour of Vale's museum of the arts (with Oobleck as a guide on his day off, for some odd reason) that even the twins seemed interested in, and had enough time left over to stop by the CCT Tower and say 'hi' to all our parents with some better quality picture than our Scrolls allow.

Despite however wonderful all of that was though, I think the best – or worst, I haven't decided yet – part of today's turnaround was the heartfelt chat I had with Lux on the dorm's rooftops before the end of the day. I don't recall how exactly we went from him complimenting me about staying composed despite Weiss being such an ice queen towards Faunus (which in of itself gave me butterflies to hear from him) to talking about why he was so reckless in combat up until recently, but I'm glad the conversation turned to him. Thanks to that change in topic, I found out that Lux's as-of-now-dying method of being obnoxious to his foes in combat has always just been his way of putting himself in the line of fire ahead of everyone else, so that he can protect those he cares about – something I can relate to wholeheartedly.

So, when I found out about that huge part of him, I sorta felt the need to return the favor, and I told him about how I lost my left eye and part of one of my ears to the Grimm, wanting to become a Huntress so that I wouldn't be that helpless to protect my family ever again – everything. Lux just listened and apologized for what happened to me and, well… things just got sorta quiet after that. I think both of us just started to realize that we might have more in common than we'd initially known and were starting to empathize a lot more with each other, but for me, it was especially awkward. With the butterflies I feel in my stomach whenever he compliments me and the fact I can relate to him so much more than Aurora and even Tenebris can with our motivations for becoming Huntsmen, it didn't take me long after things got quiet to realize why I felt that way. I'd fallen in love with my teammate. The same one I'd insulted mere hours after becoming teammates with, thus ruining any chance at me trying to make a move on my feelings without me probably ruining whatever blossoming friendship we're managing to make now that we know each other better. I don't know if Lux was having a similar epiphany or anything, but when he got up and offered to help me up after a few minutes of silence with a genuine, warm smile on his face, I decided I didn't care. Maybe I did ruin my chances with him thanks to me being snippy with him when we were first getting to know each other, but… maybe I can just be content with being friends with him; and, judging by that smile he had on his face as the sun set behind him and he helped me up, maybe he is too. And that's all that matters to me, for now. If it's meant to be, it'll be, and if not? Well, I still have one great friend named Lux to add to the list of people I'm lucky to have met.

Regardless, it wasn't until Lux and I got back to our dorms and started to decompress and chat with Aurora and Tenebris that I realized how much we all needed this break from the troubles our friends' teams have been going through. I think we all love them to death, sure, but I don't think any of us could even fathom how Weiss and Blake have managed to keep arguing well into the night now. At least when Lux and I were at each other's throats we at least cut off our bickering after a while – Blake and Weiss, not so much. I think if I wake up and they're still arguing, I'll end up calling Ozpin to clarify if this is a new world record or not. That'd be fun.

* * *

The White Fang:

Today started off so nice and calm. Tenebris and I made waffles with strawberries and Forever Fall syrup, we had a fun time talking about why we thought Oobleck would even _want_ to work on his day off, and we even practiced singing a little once Lux had his morning coffee. I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I think I need to try and ween him off the caffeine. For the first few days since we became a team and bought the stuff for him it was just an appreciation of the caffeine fix coffee gave him, but now it's almost like he'd let himself die rather than enjoy tea like the rest of us. Maybe I should just dilute the coffee with some tea? Anyway, Aurora was in the middle of some vocal exercises with him as I was making the rest of us our tea when Blake and Weiss' disagreement from yesterday came back around to bite us. As it turns out, their argument didn't last long enough to be called a new record, but instead ended up making Blake run away – go Weiss.

Seeing as we weren't about to let Blake end up who-knows-where without trying to find her, we wrapped up our breakfast and set out with Ruby, Weiss, and Yang to go find her – which was easier said than done in a city as big as Vale. Lux and I kept to the rooftops to scope things out from higher ground and Ruby's trio took to the streets Aurora and Tenebris weren't able to scope out while they were sifting through the crowds of the shopping district, but despite all our efforts, we came up with nothing. When Lux and I met up with Ruby to give her a status update, Weiss and Yang were gone, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. Since they're 'friends' and she wanted to help find Ruby's teammate, Penny decided to tag along for the search. Again, that chick is even more odd than Nora, and that's saying something. Nora's energetic and quirky as all get-out, but its like Penny needs an extra second or two to process whatever people tell her, even though she seems as smart a student as the rest of us.

Before we could leave and continue searching on our own, Penny suggested that we stick with her and Ruby, since they could use the extra pair of eyes. Since we had nothing better to do and both me and Lux felt bad about the idea of leaving Ruby alone with Penny, we obliged. One thing led to another and we learned why Blake left in the first place, even if Ruby tried to dodge the question at first. Thinking of how Blake and Weiss were arguing over the reputation of Faunus and how much vigor Blake had when it came to portraying the White Fang as extremely misguided people, I jokingly guessed that she was a Faunus too. I didn't expect to be told I was right, and I didn't expect to nearly give myself a bruise from how hard I facepalmed when I didn't realize it sooner. Weeks of knowing Blake as the quiet bookworm that always wore a convenient bow on her head and it _never_ occurred to me that she was hiding her cat ears to avoid being persecuted like me and Lux – something both of us were obviously taken aback by, since to us, it seemed like Blake was basically just leaving us out to dry in terms of Faunus hate all year, but we found out more about that later. It's funny, I'm observant enough to find the cracks no one else has in Tenebris' armor, but I'm too dense to figure out that one of my friends is a Faunus until they'd ran off who knows where. So much for being the perceptive leader of Iridescence.

Before I could beat myself up any further than I already had, the sound of an explosion in the distance tipped us off to where Blake had probably gone, and Ruby dashed off faster than I'd ever seen someone run to go find her teammate. Thanks to her Semblance, Penny, Lux, and I caught up to her only in time to see her get blown away – literally. Roman Torchwick was there and used his cane-gun and some explosive Dust to send Ruby flying. It would've been an impressive shot if it wasn't for the fact he had the intent to kill us as well as Blake and Sun – who were fighting him _and_ the White Fang at the Schnee Dust Company's docks. I would've suggested a game plan before diving in to help them out, but when Penny decided to dive in without a single concern for her own well being to get payback for Torchwick shooting at Ruby, Lux and I decided to not let our new friend get herself killed and dove in after her to provide some cover. Admittedly, Lux – at least at first – was sort of acting to me like I was acting to him when we first became teammates; as in, rather protective when it appeared there was even a chance I was gonna be caught off-guard. I'd like to think that was a small gesture of something more between us, but I wound up just writing that off as him just trying to continue being a better teammate when he started reeling in that attitude as the fight wore on. It was a nice thought to entertain for a little while, at least.

Anyway, when Penny said earlier that she was "combat ready," both me and Lux thought that was just her way of saying she was your good old-fashioned duty-bound Atlas Academy student, but no, she really _did_ mean it. She started throwing around a bunch of swords like they were as much a part of her as Aurora's cables and started tearing the Dust-carrying White Fang bullheads out of the sky. Since she was too preoccupied _blasting lasers_ at the bullheads to defend herself, Lux and I filled in the gap against Torchwick's White Fang grunts alongside Sun, who of course decided to joke around until they started shooting at us again. Part of me wanted to slap him upside the head for staying as nonchalant as Lux when we first met, but then I remembered how much I missed his charisma since we left Mistral, so I stayed my hand and focused on the White Fang. It didn't take long at that point for the would-be thieves to be sent packing, especially once the police sirens started sounding and Ruby and Blake sent Torchwick running for the escape of his personal airship.

Once the police had the area secured, we were debriefed on what we saw, and while Weiss was having a heart-to-heart with Blake, Aurora and Tenebris met back up with us. I will admit I was as disappointed in some ways as the two of them for not be able to see them in action against the White Fang, but I think the perk of having bragging rights over them for helping stop the White Fang is reward enough for the time being. Seeing as Torchwick is anything but a fan of the Faunus and yet was working with them makes me think it won't be the last we'll see of them, so there's still probably a chance I'll get to see how they handle something other than fellow Huntsmen-in-training and Grimm.

After we all had our reunion and Weiss was done talking with Blake, I finally got to introduce Sun properly to the heiress and everyone else. Since no one other than Blake, myself, and Aurora knew what to make of him, I decided to play things straight and tell them exactly what he was to us back home; that is, until Sun decided to introduce himself as a 'close friend' of ours. Of course, I corrected him, pointing out that he was both the best blessing and bane of our existence with his pranks and jokes, and that even though we'd only occasionally hang out with him at Sanctum, we knew he was a genuine guy the rest of the gang could trust. It wasn't even until we said farewell to Sun for the night that we noticed Penny'd gone missing after we were debriefed, but with us all having seen her in action, most of us agreed that she was probably just tuckered out and went home without remembering to tell anybody.

But that wasn't quite the end of the night for Lux, me, and Blake, oh no. Blake knew that since her secret was out that we'd have a lot of questions for regarding _why_ she'd hide such a part of her from us, so she was at least kind enough to lag behind the rest of the gang and give us some time to talk to her on our way home. After we both got done venting at how up until now, we'd both been left being taunted and teased by our peers more than once thanks to Blake not sticking up for us – seemingly not even _trusting_ us with her identity in so doing – she finally got around to explaining why she kept such a big part of herself secret. Evidently, she has a history with the White Fang before applying to Beacon that she wanted to leave behind in any way she can, and her keeping her identity as a Faunus secret was just another way of doing just that. She told us it wasn't a matter of trust and that she'd come to us, just like she would her own team, if something like what happened at the docks ever came up again. Considering Lux and I could relate to wanting to avoid being discriminated and were in no mood to hold a grudge against one of our friends, the issue became water under the bridge by the time we made it back to Beacon.

Now that I've had enough time to wander back up to the roof, decompress from all the excitement down at the docks, and tune out Jaune and Pyrrha's sparring, I'm left wondering if I should step up my game in terms of training. It's not like I've been slacking by any means, but I feel like I don't want to be left so close to being outclassed by Penny if we ever end up facing each other in the Vytal Tournament. Then again, it's my perceptiveness in battle and agility that's been my best friend when it comes to coming up with a decisive offense – not brute force. Maybe I should just keep on doing what I've been doing and not fret over what could be, and instead focus on something productive, like mediating and decompressing before I turn in. Seems like as good an idea as any I've had tonight. We still have a good chunk of time before the Vytal Tournament begins anyway, so I'll still be improving up until that point regardless of me intensifying my training or not.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Volume 1. DUN. Woo! Well, that was a fun two chapters to plan and write. Between discerning when Sun moved from Vacuo to Mistral (Dunedan suggested the most likely time for him to have moved was like 10-12 because of his fashion sense sticking from Vacuo) and who in Team Iridescence knew Sun, this was a very simple but engaging chapter for me to make where everyone's favorite monkey Faunus was concerned. Also, a shout-out to Dunedan for giving me the inspiration of having the gang go out and get ice cream in Vale (amongst other things). It's a pretty sweet scene in my head – no pun intended.**

 **And as for minor details? I thought that Lux and Opal bonding via sharing deep parts of themselves was a good way to cement that they've both moved on from their less-than-amicable beginnings. That, and it's a good way to show that even if Opal has feelings for Lux, she's more than willing to set those feelings aside if she feels it'll let her teammate find happiness – though we'll see what that means for him in the future, I do imagine.**

 **As for Opal and Lux approaching Blake about the breach of trust? I think that while they would be peeved at Blake leaving them relatively alone in terms of facing Faunus hate at Beacon, they'd also be sympathetic to her desire of wanting to leave as much of that past behind her as possible. Thus, Blake is forgiven, Lux and Opal get to vent and confide more deeply in one of their gang's circle of friends when Faunus hate gets rough, and all is good in the Tale of Team Iridescence.**


	6. Big Day, Big Heart, & Subtlety

Big Day, Big Heart:

Talk about one busy day. I knew full well when we woke up that today was the day Professor Port designated as a day for testing how our combat prowess was coming along with some captive Grimm of his, but I didn't expect to be thrown into a warzone before then. What started out as a test of Nora's accuracy by her tossing food into Yang's mouth from JNPR's table during breakfast turned into a full-scale food war when she threw a pie at Weiss 'by accident'. I didn't even notice how bad things were getting until Lux had to blow away a storm of apples that came flying towards us, at which point Tenebris flipped our table to create a makeshift barricade against the onslaught. Seeing as neither me nor Aurora were in any mood to get slammed into a wall by Yang wielding two turkeys like Ember Cecilia, once we saw Sun and his teammate Neptune arrive we took the opportunity to escape the chaos.

The twins only called our act of self-preservation cowardice before returning to the battlefield themselves; and, to their credit, they did astonishingly well for being a team of two versus RWBY versus JNPR. Whatever either team threw at them Tenebris would either hurl back between launching entire jugs of soda at them or Lux would deflect with a well-timed whirlwind. For crying out loud, Lux even managed to collect enough baguettes so that his Semblance could turn them into a less deadly kind of sniper shot, taking out Jaune and even Ren with his precision. Their only downfall was the fact Tenebris made them both a huge target by taunting everyone present to try and take them on – which they did. JNPR's remaining members and RWBY called for a ceasefire in the culinary warfare between their sides in order to deal with the imminent threat of the Vacuo twins. They held out valiantly, but Weiss' glyph-enhanced condiments and Nora's soda artillery eventually destroyed whatever fortifications they'd built up over the course of the battle. While they were dragging themselves over towards the front of the cafeteria to escape the carnage like they were mortally wounded soldiers (something I will never let them know nearly had me dying laughing), Ruby ended the battle by whipping up a vortex of food behind her, crushing RNJR's remaining members.

At that point, I was attempting to usher those of us who kept our hands clean – well, as clean as they could be – out of the room to avoid having a professor notice us, but Goodwitch beat me to the punch. After she got done cleaning the mess with her Semblance and sent a chill up my spine with her attempt at a joke, Ozpin reeled in her rage and let everyone who participated in the conflict go without consequence. Tenebris and Lux barely changed out of their ruined clothes in time to participate in Professor Port's selection process for the test, but we did make it. As it turns out, it was a trial meant for only one team since he only had one captive Grimm, and Lux didn't hesitate to urge me to have Iridescence volunteer for the test. Lux's idolizing of Port has earned him a sort of close mentor-apprentice relationship, so when Lux told me he was keeping his knowledge of what Grimm we were going to be fighting secret, I _thought_ he was just trying to amp us up by the mystery of it all.

If I knew what we were going to be fighting a Goliath calf that still so easily dwarfed us in size, I would've never volunteered our team in the first place. So, while Tenebris was getting as excited as all get-out to be fighting a Goliath in front of everyone and Lux was getting just as hype to impress his idol, Aurora and I were desperately trying to come up with a strategy. I think we would've been able to settle the twins down enough to collaborate too if it wasn't for the fact Port cut the Grimm loose after an all-too-quick countdown. He even had the gall to say that "a true Huntsmen has to be prepared at all times, because your prey will not wait for you to strike to fight back."

Even though the Goliath was as armored as an Atlesian airship and we had a grand total of maybe ten seconds of prep time once Port lifted the veil off its cage, I think we did incredibly. None of our Auras were broken despite the Goliath stampeding around the clearing and hurling boulders at us, and it only took maybe 15 minutes for me to figure out how we could kill the damn thing. Considering I'd never fought a Goliath, I consider myself lucky to have found that weakness as soon as I did. While it was true that the Goliath's size and armor rendered all our bladed attacks obsolete despite however much damage we did, and that the twins' gunfire seemed to only distract it, its eyes were completely defenseless, and its mouth was the perfect size for Sapphire's naginata form to fit in.

While I distracted the Goliath with some arrows, Lux sent it roaring and reeling back with an explosive Dust shot to the eye. Aurora wedged her naginata in the Grimm's jaws thanks to the pain it was in, and Tenebris sent every shot of Boomstick's clip down its throat. We only barely cleared the area before the Grimm exploded wholesale and Port congratulated us without missing a beat – the guy seemed like he didn't even notice the entire front half of his body being covered in soot from the explosion he didn't bother to move away from. I was so checked out after that fight for the day that even while RWBY and JNPR showered us in praise, I was more focused on how quickly I could convince everyone to let us leave the Emerald Forest, so I could decompress. A few hours and a trek back to Beacon later, I found out that I wasn't the only one with the desire to give my heart a break.

It wasn't long into my meditation on the roof that Jaune appeared and asked to meditate with me before I started writing in my journal and turned in for the night. Seeing as he'd even called off training with Pyrrha for the night in order to make the request, and I didn't mind the soothing presence of another person, I of course accepted. Even without Pyrrha hovering over us, it was only about halfway through my normal meditation time when we just broke off the silence in favor of some friendly conversation. I told Jaune how much I saw he was improving, internally screamed when he only called Pyrrha a friend (how he could be so blind to her interest in him blows my mind, but I suppose I'm not exactly an expert at romance myself) and eventually the conversation's focus shifted to me.

For the first time, my abbreviated history I was provided anyone other than my team – and Sun when he had the patience to listen – wasn't enough for one of my friends, and I ended up divulging everything that led me to becoming a Huntress with Jaune. From the inspiration the clan's inner council members gave me with their stories of adventure, to my desire to protect my family so that we wouldn't have to fear the Grimm ever again like we did on our way to Lake Matsu, to me discovering a general love of honing my skills, he took it all in with an amount of genuine curiosity I don't think I'd seen in anyone else other than my team. Even when it hit midnight we still continued talking: about our families, about how me and my Dad made Emerald, about how my Semblance enables my tactical style of combat thanks to it augmenting my capabilities in short spurts, nothing was off limits. If nothing else, the conversation cemented him in my mind as more than just the lovable goofball everyone – and sometimes even himself – thinks of him as. I know staying up so long is gonna come back around to bite me when I wake up, but I don't think I'd trade my heart-to-heart conversation with Jaune for anything.

* * *

Subtlety:

Sometimes I hate being right. I don't remember when exactly I passed out a few hours ago, but I do remember that I should probably start placing sleep higher on my priority list. It didn't help my groggy mood this morning when Lux gave me that look of "you know you shouldn't have stayed up so late" when he saw me dozing off during breakfast. What did help, however, was him giving his last cup of coffee to me when my tea wasn't enough to breathe some life into me this morning, so that was nice. Since then, I've come to the conclusion that coffee is way too good at its job for anyone to build a reliance on it to wake up without running the risk of becoming addicted to the stuff, but this morning I just couldn't find it in me to care that I indulged more in the coffee than the tea Aurora's parents sent her from home. That, and I've come to the conclusion that maybe Lux is just as content as me to just stay friends – even though I'm not gonna ask if that's how he feels flat-out, I can at least know that our discussion about how I lost my eye a while back didn't change how he looked at me; or at least, I don't _think_ it did.

Anyway, it's all the better that Lux gave me his coffee too, otherwise I don't think I would've been awake enough to keep up a conversation, let alone study over the sound of RWBY playing a board game and Atlas' military aircraft coming obnoxiously close to the library, but we managed. Lux busied himself trading notes with Pyrrha, Tenebris and Nora ended up using snacks as motivational tools to study, while Ren and Aurora and I were left attempting to drown out the increasingly annoying ambient noise. Seriously, I was tempted to join in on Ren's short rant when he pointed out the library was supposed to be a _quiet_ place, but then I'd be a hypocrite because Aurora and I had already started talking ourselves.

More specifically, we started talking about the fact that if Atlas showing up with some of its finer aircraft was their attempt at subtly telling Vale that they were in charge of security for the Vytal Festival, they failed spectacularly. I don't think Atlas would know the first thing about subtlety if it hit them in the face, and it certainly showed, what with the fleet making a point to play out some elaborate landing procedures just to prove how much better their military is than anyone else's. I can't speak for the entirety of Vale, but then again, my little circle of friends tells me that we here in Vale aren't all that good at subtlety either. Atlas may be blatantly failing at subtlety when it comes to arriving with their military over the city, but our run-in with Torchwick and the White Fang didn't exactly give us spec-ops status when it comes to stealth.

Aurora is the closest thing to a successfully subtle person we have in our group, and even she fails at that in some ways. Case in point, she failed to hide the book she'd borrowed from Blake and had been carrying around in her bag. Granted, I know her well enough to know she doesn't typically bring her backpack anywhere other than to class, and I was perceptive enough to notice the corner of the black book poking out of her bag, but still, it was a failure of subtlety all the same. I'm glad I didn't go looking at the book before we got back to our dorms too, considering she'd borrowed a copy of Ninjas of Love. Even though I only read a few random pages, it was clear the damn thing was like a comedy mixed with an almost uncomfortably intimate romance. Seeing as that was the case, I decided to keep my knowledge of it _very_ secret. I don't think I'd ever be able to live down the idea of the guys on our team – or more specifically, Lux – catching me skimming through that damn book and thinking I'm actually _into_ that kind of thing.

At least I didn't have to pretend I didn't know about the book any longer when Aurora went to return the thing to Blake earlier, even though that led her into dragging the team into something far more important than a copy of a book. Aurora accidentally butted into a conversation RWBY was having in their room about making plans to take down the White Fang by starting up their own off-the-books investigations of the organization, and shortly thereafter offered Iridescence's help on my behalf. I'm not sure if that was her way at getting back at me for finding out she was reading Ninjas of Love in secret or if she was just being genuine, but whatever the case we're now opening up our own end of the investigation. With any luck, we'll be successfully subtle in one of our endeavors for once, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Considering our track record from Ruby and Torchwick's first encounter, our fight with the White Fang at the docks, and so on, I think we're more likely to end up fighting the criminals than successfully figuring out their master plan for all the Dust they've been stealing.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **It occurred to me as I wrote this that Ninjas of Love is something between that I feel would be like a crossover between Twilight and 50 Shades. No wonder why everyone treats it like the Necronomicon! Being caught with the damn thing would probably lump you in with absolute nutjobs that fill the fanbase's population – but then again that's most fandoms huh?**

 **Oh, and you may be wondering why I've made Jaune have an interest in meditation. I sorta figured that with how nonstop stressed and semi self-deprecating Jaune could be at times, he'd readily accept a helping hand from a friend to help him cope. In canon, that method of coping was by training with Pyrrha to overcome the cause of his self-depreciation. Here, it's a mix of both improving his combat skills as well as just overall becoming a more level-headed individual in all but the most stressful environments. They did Jaune dirty in the show by robbing him of some big scenes in favor of handing them to other characters, but that doesn't mean he can't still be a cool dude in my story! Or at least, that's the hope.**


	7. I Hate Being Right & Like Riding A Bike

I Hate Being Right:

Even though our investigation didn't start out with my prediction about us fighting the White Fang turning out to be true, it sure did come to fruition in time. Sometimes it's better to turn out to be wrong about things, but I guess the gods just didn't feel like cutting Team Iridescence any slack today. Anyway, if it wasn't for the fact we were all students and nowhere close to authorized to be performing the investigation we assigned to ourselves, I think we could've come across like we'd been trained for this kind of thing. We'd planned to split up for the sake of covering more ground and were going over the minutia of our roles when Sun and Neptune decided to let us know they were listening in on the whole thing. Evidently, Sun was looking for me to ask if he could lend my whetstone to Neptune, so he could tune up his blade, but that mission quickly turned into a game of seeing how much he could muscle himself and Neptune in on our plans. To his credit, he did help a lot down the line.

With two extra hands on deck when it came to the investigation but no leads coming from them, Sun and Neptune were put into impromptu teams of two alongside the members of RWBY without a partner. Yang and Neptune were to head off and investigate a shady nightclub she had a "friend" in, Ruby and Weiss took it upon themselves to go to the CCT Tower to check for Schnee Dust Company inconsistencies and robberies that would match up with White Fang activity, and Blake and Sun went off to a White Fang rally. Come to think of it, considering how horribly that part of the plan had a chance to go wrong, I think we could've put a lot more stock in that part of the investigation, but at the time I don't think anyone saw any possibility of the two of them getting into a trouble at a White Fang rally. Irony at its finest, I suppose.

With RWBY gone, that left the rest of us to go about our own queries. Aurora and I used our upper-class links at the Mistral Embassy to see if there was any link between any criminal organization's Dust robberies back home and the White Fang while the twins went off to a bar Lux described as "Vacuo if it was more full of Faunus that would tell you anything they knew about anything if you beat them in a brawl." Even though nothing came out of our parts of the investigation, I don't think I'll be able to scrub the image out of my head of Tenebris putting on some pugilist gloves with some old blood stains that he called "Lucky" and "Lucy." I know they had a rough past, but something about naming your brawling gloves – and not legitimate Huntsmen weapons – just sent a chill up my spine. That, and the blood stains.

Around the same time Aurora and I were about to call the twins to let them know the Embassy had nothing, the twins met up with us in person to let us know their beatdown at the bar resulted in just as much nothing as our part of the mission. As we were about to call it a day and wait for RWBY's return at Beacon, we were treated to the lovely sound of Sun yelling for help over Scroll alongside Blake as they were running for their lives from Torchwick chasing them in an Atlas mech. So, with that lovely image in our heads, we all scrambled to help and make sure the two of them didn't get flattened in an uncomfortably literal way. Not only was the idea of the two of them getting hurt something that threatened to distract me when we finally caught up with them, but right before the call from Sun came in that they needed help, Lux looked like he was about to ask me something important – which, surprise surprise, he did and _so much more_ after we were done helping Sun and Blake.

Speaking of, by the time the team made it to the highway where they were being chased, we had to choose between making sure Sun and Neptune – who'd managed to get themselves flung off the road – didn't get overrun by White Fang reinforcements and helping RWBY take care of Torchwick. Since RWBY had the most experience with Torchwick, we left them to it and dove off the other side of the road to save our friends from Mistral – and boy did they need saving. Between the two of them thinking a noodle shop was a good place to choose as their battlefield and the mess of White Fang that'd cornered them there, it took a while to clear a path to them, let alone form a plan to escape that didn't involve the twins blowing a hole in the roof.

We settled on Neptune, Sun, and me being put on knockout duty while Tenebris made a distraction that let Lux blow the White Fang into the air, and Aurora escaped with the owner of the shop over the crowd. Even though we were outnumbered ten to one, and I think one of the White Fang members was wielding a _chainsaw,_ we made it out of the shop just in time for the rest of their forces to retreat. We only found out after the fact that they were running for the hills because Torchwick had been defeated – not that it was a surprise, given Team RWBY is one powerful force to be reckoned with when they coordinate.

RWBY managed to take down an Atlas mech – albeit a prototype piloted by Torchwick and not a professional soldier – with just the four of them and their team attacks. Even though Torchwick got away thanks to the help of his mute companion Neo, I think all of us emerging without a scratch could be called a win. If not, I think the noodle shop owner rewarding Team Iridescence and SSSN with free noodles would be cause for the night being called a resounding success – and that's not even considering what was to come.

After Sun and Neptune excused themselves to go take advantage of their free noodle passes at _another_ store the old guy owned, we met up with Ruby and the gang back at our dorms. While the rest of my team was bragging about _our_ team attacks not even needing names to be performed, Yang pulled me aside with a picture Neptune had snapped when they were at the club. According to both Yang and Neptune, the two gaudy-looking twin girls that worked in the club had the last name Malachite as well, and Yang was asking on everyone's behalf if there was any family relation. I could almost hear everyone inside the dorm turn to look out the door when I said no. The Malachite clan may adopt members not necessarily related to us by marriage or by blood from time to time, but I think I would remember hearing about those two at a clan gathering or two. I suppose whoever their ancestors were just had a liking for the stone too, who knows?

Things were finally getting so lax after that discussion ended that I forgot entirely that Lux wanted to talk to me earlier; so, when he did stop me before we caught up with Aurora and Tenebris in our dorm room, I was obviously a little confused – but that didn't last long. As soon as he started scratching the back of his head and started out talking to me by complimenting me on how good of a friend I'd been to him for looking out for his well-being, I think my heart skipped a beat at the prospect of him saying what I thought he was going to. Against every bit of seemingly 'logical' thought I'd had concerning me and him potentially being an item, _he blushed_ and asked me out on a date at the Beacon Dance! I'm pretty he looked exactly like I'd felt for weeks now when he asked too – confused and unsure of if we could even ask each other to be a thing without immediately taking a dozen steps back in terms of our friendship. Needless to say, I could barely contain my enthusiasm and just about leaped into his arms to give him a hug as I accepted, but I don't think I can fault myself for that! Weeks of us thinking ourselves unworthy of each other, and all of that just seemed to melt away when Lux took the first step for both of us.

Judging by the dumb grins on Aurora and Tenebris' faces when we walked into our team's room, they either knew that Lux would ask me out (and maybe encouraged him to do so, the more I think about it), or they knew that we were both hiding our feelings from one another for weeks. Now that our feelings are up in the air between each other and all, I can't help but feel like an absolute idiot at how I kinda forced Lux to take the first step for both of us, but, I can at least try to make it up to him come the Beacon Dance. It's not often that I wear a dress and just let go, but I think that the dance will do a lot of good for both of us. So long as I don't blow it by tripping over myself, or something dumb like that.

Now that the day comes finally comes to a close and I'm finally finishing up scrawling away into my journal, I'm left wondering if this investigation is going to continue with as much gusto in the future as it did today. If so, then there might be a sort of conflict of interest between the upcoming Beacon Dance and our self-assigned duties, but I think Ruby's gonna be kind enough to give us a break when the time comes. I also think I'm gonna volunteer our team to help CFVY set up the ballroom as soon as arrangements are being made, so that we at least have a break from the investigation when the time comes. Not only would it be a well-deserved break, but it'd also be nice to spend some quality time with Lux before our proper first date begins in a few days. Besides, it's been a while since I've taken part in setting up something as enjoyable and charming as a dance, so it'd at bare minimum be a nice change of pace in our schedule if they accept the offer. Of course, I'll have to wait until Coco and her team return from their mission to ask, but it's not like I'm in any hurry.

* * *

Like Riding a Bike:

Despite our teams' joint investigation continuing just as strong as ever, I think something about CFVY's mission taking longer than expected is something I can only interpret as a sign that we're allowed to ease up on our mission. With the dance coming up this weekend and me already planning to offer the team's help in setting things up, the opportunity had come for me and Aurora to let our upbringings shine for once, and so we spent the latter half of today preparing the ballroom after some sparring matches in preparation for the Vytal Tournament qualifiers. Well, I say we, but RWBY – except for Blake – was also there to help. Weiss was especially helpful, since she had more of an eye for how the finer elements of a dance should be organized and decorated than say, Ruby or the twins.

Lucky us, we still managed to make the most out of what little spare time we had between classes and needing to get to the ballroom. Seeing as the twins didn't have a single formal coat or vest to their names due to their lack of both money and a need for formal wear in Vacuo, Aurora and I decided to treat them to some clothes. All the better we left swiftly too, considering Jaune really did go through with his plan to try and win Weiss over for the dance through song. If we stood in our dorms' hall any longer than it took for me to recognize what he was doing, I'm sure I would've ended up laughing to death. Something about the fact Jaune's so well-meaning but so blind when it comes to Pyrrha's obvious affections towards him is just so absurd that it makes me hope he wakes up from whatever dreamworld he's living in to believe Weiss is the right one for him. If there's one thing I know about the two of them, it's that somewhat stuck-up upper-class students don't tend to mix with the scraggly and goofy kind of guy, no matter how charming or warm-hearted they are.

Even though we had the intent to go shopping for formal wear for Lux and Tenebris, I had no idea just how well they'd fit in with a tux when push came to shove. Not only did they look good in formal wear, but when we convinced them to put some hair gel on and let us tidy them up, they looked so good that they were turning heads in the store; lucky me, despite Lux drawing in a bit more attention than Tenebris, I could take comfort in the fact he's all mine. They even looked like they were even having a good time being enlightened by the wonders of more flattering clothes, what with how they were kind enough to give their opinions on my own and Aurora's dresses. Granted, their compliments were very basic, but they definitely picked up on more of the details of our outfits than other people have in the past. From Lux making me blush at how he picked up on my gown's subtle green tint and hints of my clan's signature peacock emblem upon its chest to Tenebris off-handedly guessing that Aurora's blue dress was bound to turn heads, I can say with certainty that those two are the most intelligent – and loveably kind, once you get to know them – students to have come out of Vacuo I've ever met.

I don't think any of us should have a problem at the dance – not that I ever expected any of us to, anyway. Lux flirting with me and making me feel butterflies whenever we have a chance to be alone by itself guarantees me looking forward to our first date, Tenebris has too big of a heart not to offer himself to whatever wallflowers are most assuredly going to be at the dance, and I think Aurora's probably gonna be less of a wallflower herself and more likely have a line of guys and girls asking for her hand during the dance – which means all of us should be good to go when the dance finally rolls around.

Speaking of the dance, when we actually _started_ setting things up with Ruby and the gang, it really hit me how long it'd been since I'd last set up a dance. Once Weiss started bringing out doilies and curtains to choose from, everything came rushing back so quickly it was like my head was gonna start spinning. Even though Yang's muscled some fog machines in on the otherwise perfectly formal-looking ballroom, the atmosphere felt almost perfectly like dances back home by the end of the day. The only thing that could've made the dance prep better was Blake being there to help us out, and not sulking in the library over the investigation for the umpteenth sleepless night in a row, but that wasn't exactly on the top of my priority list to deal with when there was so much to be done. Besides, when Yang said she's gonna convince Blake to come, I couldn't help but believe her. Yang can be very convincing when she needs to be.

As if helping organize everything wasn't exciting enough for one day, Lux nearly gave me another heart attack when we were wrapping up. The last thing I expected to hear him ask me after an afternoon of heavy lifting and decorating prior to our first date was if we could try and arrange a musical performance for our team after the dance. Even though he made it clear he and Tenebris weren't gonna be talked into singing anything romantic – and that they'd already chosen some Vacuo punk rock songs to cap off the night with some energy – it was still shocking to hear they even wanted to perform in front of an audience. A few short weeks ago it took an effort just to get them to sing in front of me and Aurora, and then there they were, asking to organize a post-dance performance.

Goodwitch was the only obstacle in the way of us being approved to do so, in all honesty. She tried pointing out we'd have to fund it with our own money, but since me and Aurora have more than enough of our allowances saved up to cover the event, that wasn't really an issue. She then started grasping at straws to try and shut us down, eventually using the excuse we'd have to talk to Ozpin for approval, and since he's a busy man, she told us we shouldn't intrude on his time. Unfortunately for her – and somewhat us come to think of it – Professor Port arrived to check on the progress of the ballroom and backed us up. He told her that the performance would be a good chance for us "to display their showmanship in something other than combat," and so we were in the clear to perform so long as we took care of all the expenses.

Given that Port's choice of words was probably his way of telling me Lux had told him about my critique of _his_ performance during lectures, that now leaves us with the challenges of finishing prep for the main dance, organizing and practicing for the performance we've come up with, and figuring out how to impress Port with it. Lux's told me that he's a big fan of music of all kinds and all, but I still think we should practice just a little bit more than is usually warranted with such an event to make sure we work out all the kinks. There's probably going to be a lot of them too, considering I haven't sang any Vacuo punk rock songs in my entire life, but at least Lux and Tenebris seem confident in us. Despite all the challenges though, I'm certain that the dance is going to be one big night to remember. How could a romantic evening followed by an energetic musical performance with friends possibly be bad?

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **And there we have it! Lux actually turns out to reciprocate Opal's feelings, but their mutual healthy respect for one another and their friendship kept them apart – for a little while, anyway. I will confess, it's been a rather long and fun road to write an evolving romance for the two of them – but don't expect me to detail** _ **all**_ **the ins and outs of their relationship come the later, less relaxed, Volumes of ToTI. I wanted to set up a ship I'm rather fond of, and it's just about full-on set sail in earnest; go Glowstone!**

 **Anyway, as for the length of that part of Opal's entry detailing Lux asking her out being short? I figured that Opal's the kind of girl that can be very excited and let loose every once in a while, sure, but I don't reckon she's the kind of teenage girl that'll scrawl away toooo much about her boyfriend in her journal; and so, keeping the details of Lux asking her out short but very sweet was my answer to letting her be feminine while staying the strong independent leader of Iridescence I've loved to write about.**

 **Oh, and in my eyes, Sun and Neptune probably shouldn't have gotten away scot-free at a noodle shop (modified from a simple stand for the sake of action) when they were actively engaging the White Fang. Even though it was just Torchwick chasing them, wouldn't there be at least** _ **some**_ **reinforcements that'd be on their way to help since their rally was infiltrated? At least, that was my thought process writing that part of the chapter, alongside just wanting to think out how Team Iridescence could synergize their talents in a setting where there's a civilian involved. Oh, and I can't forget to mention! The Malachite twins were addressed in this chapter because, well, when else would I get the chance to explain there's no family relation? XD**

 **As for the second big entry of this chapter? I considered having there be a scene with Aurora and Opal sparring in the latter half by the by, but I thought having a more chill entry of Opal just detailing the dance prep and off-handedly mentioning how Lux and she are coming along would be a nice change of pace. Also, I'll totally not be revealing what song I've imagined Team Iridescence singing in their performance in the next author's note. I mean really, who do you think I am? Someone who falls in love with a song so much he works it into his story because he thinks it'll be cool and maybe a little entertaining to imagine? Pff.**


	8. The Beacon Dance & Big Game Hunt

The Beacon Dance:

For once, I'm more than glad that I was right – the dance was nothing but an amazing time. The night started off wonderfully, with even the weather seeming to land just perfectly between warm and cool so that no one would ever really be bothered by the temperature when the time came for our performance to start up. Anyway, just as predicted, Aurora and Tenebris fit right in with the rest of the crowd once a lot of people started showing up, and Lux and I were left to socialize and make the most of the night. I think I even caught a glimpse of Aurora dancing with Velvet as the night went on – I remember her talking about her fondly a few weeks ago, but I haven't yet had the time to ask her if their dance was an impromptu date or just her being picked up by someone she happened to know. Either way, I was happy to see Aurora having a good time while Lux and I were elsewhere. Tenebris too, but he didn't make many waves until _after_ the dance, whereas during the dance he was simply being the epitome of a gentleman by offering himself to whatever guys and girls didn't have someone to their own. For crying out loud, he even told me that he paired up a few newfound couples in the middle of everything, which doesn't surprise me given his big heart.

Another prediction of mine I was ecstatic to see come true was the fact that, despite his inexperience and usual joking nature, Lux was nothing but probably the best date I've ever had, for many reasons. Aside from him just generally looking stunning in his tux and styled hair, what really had me melting in his arms so much was how he reeled in his normal amount of flirting and trying to make me laugh in favor of just… I don't know… making me feel good, I suppose. It wasn't like his compliments towards me and our casual conversation about how dumb we were not to act on our feelings sooner wasn't genuine – I could tell what was going on between us was real – but I think he was just trying to compose himself enough to make a good impression on our first proper date. As if him making me blush so often before the dance wasn't enough to convince me that he's trying to be his best for me.

So, not only did he just about make me feel like I was living out a good romance novel by how he was acting in that regard, but then he continued to blow me away by managing to pick up on slow dancing rather quickly as well. He was obviously a little flustered when he nearly stepped on my toes once we first started dancing, but after he accepted that I wasn't angry in the slightest, I could feel him loosening up for real for the first time all night. I think at that point, after I told him I was happy with him acting however he wanted to act so long as he was comfortable around me, he started to realize that he didn't have to put on any extra effort for me to continue falling for him. Combine that realization with me not holding a grudge for him making a minor mistake during what is literally his _first dance_ , and he was back to the lovable, joking Huntsman-in-training from Vacuo I fell in love with – give or take a little bit of effort on his part to not embarrass me with some of his flirting and jokes throughout the night from there onwards.

If not for Sun and Blake (still wondering how Yang convinced her, but I'm sure I'll have time to ask later) running into us during a slow dance and bringing us aside to talk, I would've been content just to stay there slow dancing in Lux's arms for the entire night, but the two of them were good company. I'd forgotten how crazy some of the stories Sun had from back home were until he told them for the first time to Blake, but they were as filled with life and energy as back when I'd first heard them. Granted, most of them were embellished by him so that he could look even more cool in front of Blake than he needed to be, but I didn't have the heart to point out any of his exaggerations. The short break from slow dancing gave me the chance to really let the atmosphere (beyond Lux turning me into a pile of mush) sink in too, so I did pick up on some details I'm glad I didn't miss. For instance, I would've never even noticed Tenebris' failed attempt to get Ruby to dance, Jaune following Pyrrha outside, or Weiss sitting by her lonesome if not for Sun pulling us aside.

Seeing as Lux and Blake were enthralled by an entirely false story about how Sun took a support column from my dad's forge as inspiration for his weapon, I excused myself to go see how Weiss was doing. Or I would have, if not for Neptune coming back and telling me that _Jaune_ of all people had given him some encouraging advice to go ahead and hang out with Weiss. Why he wasn't doing so already I wanted to ask, but he was gone and Jaune bumped into me before I could react. From what he hurriedly told me on his way out, not only had he finally woken up and realized Pyrrha had feelings for him, but he was "going to keep his promise." Part of me wishes that he didn't tell me what that promise was, so I could enjoy the absurdity as much as Lux and the rest of everyone there did, but another admires how serious Jaune sounded when he told me.

He was back in about ten minutes – _wearing a dress_ – and didn't even give the laughing of the entire ballroom any mind before he made his way to Pyrrha. As if keeping good on a joke of a promise and reducing Pyrrha to fits of giggling wasn't good enough for him though, he didn't waste any time before breaking out into a dance routine with the rest of his team that just _must've_ been choreographed from the start. I don't know why I thought my team would be the only one that would add a bit more energy to tonight by performing for the fun of it, but I'm glad JNPR did what they did. With how the first song we'd be performing after the dance was planned to start out, I think that Jaune dancing in a dress sort of dampened out the reactions people could've had when the time came.

The rest of the dance itself passed by in a blur if I'm honest, but before long, Aurora and Tenebris managed to sneak out to catch up with me and Lux and begin setting the stage for our performance – literally. I was surprised at how easy the stage was to put both put together and take apart, but I think that might've had more to do with Tenebris' Semblance than any kind of aptitude we had for construction going for us. We did finish in time, thank goodness, and as those who wanted to finish off the night with a bit more energy than slow dancing would allow came to the stage, our performance began.

Even though we'd practiced it for a while, I was still ever so slightly worried about our first song opening with an _accordion_ , of all instruments, but with JNPR's dance routine still fresh in everyone's minds I think the few amused faces we saw in the crowd at first could've been far worse. Those few nerves that didn't refuse to be nipped at the bud died in a flash though once the real beat kicked in. With Lux and Tenebris taking the lead and Aurora and I playing the part of support vocals, you could practically feel the excitement in the air rippling through the crowd like a current. Even though the performance only lasted around half an hour, I think it was a damn good first performance for a team whose twin brother members didn't know a thing about singing until a few weeks ago. Oh, and considering Lux told me Port was a fan of music in general, I supposed I shouldn't have been surprised to see him so impressed by our rehearsed performance, but I think my surprise to see Oobleck – and even Goodwitch – enjoying themselves was warranted. Even if they refused to let it show too much beyond small smiles and the tapping of their feet, it was clear that they at least didn't regret sticking around after the dance was over.

JNPR was kind enough to help us disassemble and put away the stage and whatever other resources we'd pulled out for the performance in short order, and thus, the without-a-doubt best part of my night began. With Aurora and Tenebris having done perhaps the most lifting out of all of us, they decided to head back to the dorms with JNPR while Lux and I stuck behind to admire the weather for a little bit. One off-handed compliment towards Lux concerning our night led to him returning the favor, and before I knew it we were sitting next to each other on the grass, more focused on how close we were to each other than what we were saying or doing and… well, we _kissed_. Maybe I should've waited a little longer before letting myself get carried away but, with how wonderfully storybook the night was up until that point, I think accepting the idea of true love being an actual thing and having it guide my actions isn't the most out-there thing I could've done.

So, now that I've gotten changed and Lux and I have finally let each other go for the night, I find myself on the roof once again, letting my heart finally slow down before I let this chapter of my life end. Even though we're less than three weeks away from having our teams deployed on our first ever official, life-or-death missions tailing some of the professors, I can't help but feel like the night's ending on the best note possible. From the performance going great to Lux and I enjoying ourselves in the utterly storybook way as we did, tonight was way too positive for it to end on anything but a pleasant note, really. Even if they are really draining by the time the day is done, I think we all could use more nights like these.

* * *

Big Game Hunt:

All things considered, our first ever official mission could've gone a lot worse. When I signed us up for a medium-risk Search and Destroy mission, I thought that we'd maybe be dealing with your average Beowolves and Ursai with a Nevermore or Death Stalker mixed in and be back in a day or two, since the mountains that we were clearing out weren't all that far. I was very, very wrong, and probably shouldn't have listened to my boyfriend (still feels weird calling him that, but it's getting better, the more I think about it) when it came to choosing our first big mission. I don't think we'd even had a chance to see how RWBY and JNPR were doing with their mission selections by the time Port showed up and told us to pack our camping supplies. How he was aware of us taking the exact mission he was assigned to, and how he knew where we were so he could start lecturing us on preparedness I don't know, but I do know that we must've been gone within the hour. It wasn't the most absurd thing about the mission though – heck, I think it might've been the least jarring thing that's happened over the past few days.

Once we were dropped off as close to our destination as the bullheads would take us, I knew that we were going to be out longer than I'd hoped. Port was in the middle of regaling us with a story about how he once survived a run-in with a Death Stalker with nothing but a torch on hand – a story that Lux was in love with judging by his blissful nigh-obliviousness of his surroundings – when the bridge we were about to cross appeared to be missing. Thus, we began a detour that took us most of the day, but that was only the beginning of our suffering. Even though the first two days of our mission mainly consisted of us clearing out packs of the Grimm we expected to find in between Port's mind-numbing but steadily-improving stories, the third day is when signs of a greater threat began to loom.

I may rattle on about how Port's showmanship and way of storytelling might make me want to skydive without a parachute sometimes, but he did prove why he became a professor when push came to shove. There were these absolutely massive tracks – almost as big as an ancient Goliath's – that began leading us to a cave pretty far out from where we originally intended to clear that even Lux couldn't identify, but Port knew plenty well. He didn't tell us until we'd neared the den of the Grimm we'd been suddenly tracking what the thing was, but I think that was more because he wanted to be certain what he was looking at was real than anything. As it turns out, we found what was likely the last Greater Cerberus on Remnant.

While Port was staring at the thing from our hiding spot outside the cave to make sure he wasn't going mad – well, any madder than he already is – Lux filled Aurora and I in on what abomination of nature we'd managed to stumble across. Once upon a time, Greater Cerberus were priority number one on the Huntsmen's list of targets to destroy, and as Lux cautiously explained, it didn't take a genius to figure out why. Not only are they as big as a Goliath – albeit far less armored – with three heads when fully grown, but even if you kill them once, that isn't the end of them. They keep splitting up into Lesser Cerberus upon their deaths until, generations later, they're left as dozens to hundreds of single-headed Fenrir. As if having to kill a massive Grimm that shrinks in size but grows in number dozens of times over wasn't bad enough, Lux told us that if we planned to kill the thing for good we'd have to make sure not a single Lesser Cerberus or Fenrir escaped. Why? Because if one did, it could rapidly grow back to its original Greater Cerberus form and retain all the memories of its fallen brothers – becoming an even deadlier threat.

With that in mind, once Port told us we should probably hurry back to Vale and call in reinforcements, I wasn't going to argue. Of course, we never made it back to Vale before the Greater Cerberus decided to venture out of its den for the first time in who knows how long. We were halfway back to the city when Vale's sirens started sounding, and within mere minutes the Greater Cerberus was making a thunderous charge for what was – as we later found out – a breach in the city wall.

So began our race against the clock. I don't remember how long we were clinging onto the Grimm's back with Port, hacking and firing away at whatever we could until the thing fell, but every time we killed one generation, three more Lesser Cerberus would take their place. What started as us trying to eliminate the Grimm in its entirety quickly devolved into us just trying to corral it into the city on our terms, and to our credit, we succeeded phenomenally. Aurora's cables and Tenebris' strength kept some of the larger generations herded inwards while Port, Lux, and I herded the smaller Fenrir and Lesser Cerberus close enough together to make sure they could all still be accounted for.

Not only did we contain the Lesser Cerberus and the dozens of Fenrir, but when Port was called once we had Scroll reception to go and help seal the main breach, we didn't just hold the line like Port wanted until he could get back – we vanquished the last generations of the Grimm entirely. Granted, it was a nightmare making sure we kept up a perimeter tight enough to make sure the resulting hundreds of Fenrir didn't slip out of our sight, but we did it. Lux and Tenebris took care of the few remaining larger targets while Aurora and I used our mobility to make short work of whatever Fenrir were trying to either rush the twins or run away. I daresay that we looked like real Huntsmen out there, with the tide of Grimm not even breaking any one of our Auras. By the time Port returned with a bunch of the teams that helped seal the breach – RWBY and JNPR included – the area was clear and some of the Fenrir were already evaporating. We still managed to get off a head count though, and Port was able to assure us that we had indeed killed the last undiscovered Greater Cerberus.

Once he was done congratulating and 'rewarding' us by saying he was going to work our performance in the field into his next lesson on rare Grimm species (which on any other occasion with anyone other than Lux around I would say was a punishment), the adrenaline started to fade, and boy did we feel it. I can't remember a time I was too tired by a day's events at Beacon to listen in on what the rest of the gang had been up to beyond the basics, but right now all I want to do is finish writing about the 'adventure' that we've been on and pass right out. Which, come to think of it, sounds a lot better than potentially falling asleep on the roof and being caught in my pajamas by Jaune and Pyrrha if they come up to spar tonight. Anyway, it'll be nice to have a day to trade stories and start preparing for the Vytal Tournament tomorrow, but fornow I think I'm gonna go try and not die due to exhaustion. Who could've guessed that fighting hundreds of canine-looking Grimm for hours would tire a ninja out, eh?

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **If you're wondering what Vacuo punk rock is, I'm imagining Team Iridescence kicking off their performance with something along the lines of a modified version of Kongos' "Come with me Now." Certainly fits the bill of "funk rock" in my opinion, and a part of me thinks it's the sorta music you'd totally find in Vacuo. Oh, and of course if you don't think it's a good song that's all good or fitting, I'm sure you could just plug in your own favorite song in there to make the scene more entertaining to you, but I figured I'd just try and share a little something I really liked in this chapter with you all. Cheers! Oh, and I did debate splitting this chapter up in two, but I decided against it, if you were wondering why I went from calm Beacon Dance atmosphere to the "ohdeargodfightforyourlives" finale arc.**

 **Speaking of the finale arc, yes, I know Cerberus is simply guardian of the underworld in Greek mythology and that Fenrir is a Norse mythological figure, but I figured it'd be nice to use some cool name references when it came to fleshing out my idea for a Hydra-like Grimm. It was better than calling it just blandly a Hydra and then having to double back and specify "oh right it's actually a canine, not a serpent," partway through the journal entry. I am** _ **also**_ **well aware that the missions in the original canon take place merely a day or two after the Beacon Dance, but since this is my fanon and I wanted Lux and Opal to have more time to become a truly solidified couple, I decided to give them a little more time in between the dance and their death-defying mission to be an item.**

 **PS: Another Journey to the West reference, can ya spot it? 3 individual cookies to whoever figures it out. Good thing I bought a lot of cookies because I stink at subtlety lol.**


	9. Round One & The First Hurdle

Round One:

After our mission a few days ago, I don't think I've ever been more thankful to kick back, relax, and enjoy watching some fights than I was today. RWBY might've had to deal with Torchwick and the full force of what the gang's investigation was eventually going to discover anyway, but when the train they needed to stop busted through into the city, at least they had reinforcements to fall back on. The four of us had to fight hundreds of Grimm multiple times over _and_ make sure none escaped, whereas the rest of the gang just had to plug a hole in the wall to emerge victorious.

Anyway, I think that out of all the fights in the opening matches, RWBY's must have been the most impressive. Who could've guessed that I'd be the most excited to see my friends' match above all others, huh? They were up against ABRN too, which made things even more interesting since Aurora and I'd met them back home. If there's one thing you learn when you're in the same class as them, its that they're no pushovers, especially where Arslan is concerned. I don't think I'd say she's stronger than Tenebris where brute force is concerned, but she has refined her skill in martial arts enough to be evenly matched with anyone you pin her against – within reason, of course.

For the first few minutes of the fight, RWBY looked dead-even against ABRN too. It wasn't until Yang froze three of Arslan's teammates that things started going downhill, even if her team being frozen in of itself wasn't an issue. After Arslan broke them free of the ice with one shockingly focused punch, Blake didn't miss a beat, flinging Yang into the four of them for the knockout. Even though I only approached Arslan for the first time in months just to congratulate her on the valiant effort despite her defeat, I think she did appreciate seeing a friendly face give her some praise before they left the colosseum. Speaking of leaving, I think I ended up sprinting to catch up with RWBY and my own team before the last airbus to Beacon left for the next hour. I guess hunger is more powerful than the basic human decency to wait for your friend before booking it. At least Lux and Aurora were kind enough to stick around and make sure I didn't fling myself off the docks to catch up with them if the airbus left before I got there.

Come to think of it, once we were all situated with copiously large bowls of noodles – courtesy of both Pyrrha and myself contributing to the celebrations after Weiss' card was rejected (for some reason) – I think I understand why everyone was in such a hurry to leave. Not only were the portions big enough to quell even Tenebris and Nora's appetites, but the food was just _amazing_ in general for noodles made in Vale. They were certainly no Mistral noodles, but they were good enough that I couldn't bring myself to do anything but enjoy the afternoon and rest up for our own upcoming match. If nothing else, we've found a new place to enjoy ourselves after the colosseum's matches conclude each day, rather than all of us wandering around looking for some good food like we would otherwise.

* * *

The First Hurdle:

Seeing as I was so adamant about writing how I felt after our big first match as soon as I could that I brought my journal with me to the arena, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised I've ended up scribbling down my thoughts while we're waiting for the airbuses to get back from offloading spectators in Vale, and yet I am. Not that I'm regretting it though. Knowing me, some of the details of the fight or how I felt during it would probably be lost if I let myself mull over my thoughts for too long, so better that I write now rather than later, even if that means not celebrating with the gang until we get back to Beacon – and more specifically, the fairgrounds.

Anyway, there was only one fight other than ours (obviously) that I think I should scribble my thoughts down about before I get on to our matchup against SSSN – JNPR vs BRNZ. I swear when I saw that team come out onto the playing field I didn't expect JNPR to win, Jaune's leadership or no, but I have been (and will continue to be, it seems) wrong before. When Nora's Semblance started coming into play, that's when I knew my thoughts of JNPR not winning were dead wrong, what with her literally climbing a mountain and charging herself up with lightning. Even though they obviously leaned a lot on Nora when it came to knocking BRNZ out of the arena in one fell swoop, I will say that the only reason she was even able to do so was because Jaune came up with the idea and bought her enough time to do so. A part of me likes to believe that me helping him cope with stressful situations allowed him to remain clear-headed enough to do so, but another thinks that the win was all him.

Not only was the idea of sending Ren rushing into a sniper's line of fire obviously something only Jaune would come up with, but him calling an impromptu team meeting in the middle of the fight made it clear he was still as much of a goof as ever. I think they were discussing the names of their team attacks, which makes me thankful my team hasn't seen any point in naming elaborate attack routines that anyone could pick up on after they're shouted out for the first time in a fight. Anyway, while me and Lux were debating whether to be impressed or sad to see Jaune forget they were in the middle of the tournament, Nora just rushed BRNZ and knocked _all four of them_ out of the arena with one swing. I will admit though that I am curious what JNPR's 'Arkos' and 'Flower Power' team attacks are – Jaune certainly seemed excited at the idea of using them before he decided to have Nora finish things off. Something to ask Jaune about later, I suppose.

I would've been down to congratulate the gang on their win once they started moving back to the stands, but I didn't really have much time to do anything but give them some high fives before it was Iridescence's time to shine. I think that despite the fact we were facing Sun and his team, the spirit of competition was still alive and well, even though one of us were going to be out of the tournament by the end of the match. Neptune was as borderline cocky as ever, Sun was as wrapped up in witty banter with Lux as he was anytime they're together, and Sage and Scarlet seemed to be the only members of their team that were more focused on preparing themselves for the match rather than making showmen out of themselves before the fight even started. Speaking of, when our desert half of the arena was revealed I didn't think much of it even though the twins looked forward to some familiar turf to fight on, but once SSSN's ocean half of the arena was selected… I don't think I'd ever seen Neptune freeze up so quickly. I knew he was afraid of the water, and that with an ocean being his team's half of the arena it'd be tough for him to really be in the right state of mind, but I did _not_ expect him to blaze past everyone and climb up to the top of the desert's plateau in the first three seconds of the fight.

Not that I was complaining. It might've been the worst thing to happen to SSSN in terms of strategy, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. As soon as Sun sent Sage to try and save Neptune, I sent Aurora and Tenebris to try and intercept him as Lux and I charged the rest of SSSN, so they couldn't take any more ground. When I think about it, I'm sure that those calls are what helped us win the match, even though we did hit a few... speed bumps along the way that Lux's probably never gonna let me hear the end of.

While Aurora was tangling with Neptune atop the plateau to try, and eventually succeed at, wrapping a cable around him to fling him out of the arena, Tenebris and Sage were duking it out at the base of the rock formation. From what he and Aurora were able to tell me, the two heavy-hitters of our teams ended up triggering a rockslide that knocked them both out, which is no surprise considering both of them walk around with enough strength to bench press themselves ten times over. Thankfully, Aurora had more luck in her half of the fight. It might've taken a while thanks to how precise Neptune was with his rifle, but mobility overcame his refusal to move from the dry half of the arena, and as the plateau that made his footing came crumbling down thanks to Tenebris and Sage's fight, she was able to fling him like a ragdoll out of the ring.

Lux and I were having good luck on our end of things too, at least for a while. We managed to push Scarlet and Sun back to the boat that was in their half of the arena, and I sincerely thought that they were on the ropes. I should've known that the two of them were just looking for some terrain they could take advantage of – which they did. While Scarlet kept me busy deflecting his blade and his pistol's attacks during our duel on the mast, Lux was having his ass handed to him on deck. Lux might be an absolute legend with Wiz when he has the range – or makes the range with his Semblance – but against opponents like Sun that can close the gap and specialize in melee combat? I probably would've been better off having Lux provide cover fire from afar, but when I made the call I just didn't want to give Sun any more time to think of a better strategy, and so I sorta doomed Lux to desperately trying to fend off Sun as his contribution to the fight. At least Lux didn't seem too bothered by the fact he sorta got the short end of the stick in our part of the match after the fight was over. In fact, once he got over giving me some half-hearted sass in the immediate aftermath of it all, he was kind enough to still give me a hug and congratulate me on pulling through – but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'd just finished off Scarlet by swiping his legs out from under him and destroying his Aura with a clean strike when Sun's spectral clones overcame Lux's bayonet. Before I could even close the gap to try and save Lux, he was knocked out cold by Sun. Lucky me, Aurora arrived shortly into my fight with Sun – which was remarkably even all things considered – and we overpowered him; but not before we apologized for Neptune jeopardizing their chances at making it into the finals. Sun took the loss really well, after that. He never let his charisma drop even at the bitter end, and he was way less pissed at Neptune for running off on his own because of a little water than I thought he'd be. I expected Sun to flip in some over-the-top way when the match was over, but somehow him staying supportive and upbeat towards Neptune after the loss seemed more shocking.

Once Oobleck and Port were done yelling about how everyone should file out of thecolosseum in a "calm and orderly fashion," the group decision was made to hold off on the celebrations until we could make it back to the fairgrounds. So here I am, waiting for an airbus amongst a sea of people, wondering which two of us are going to be sent on to the doubles round while the gang's busy showering each other in unending praise. Lux and Tenebris seem adamant that, since we're more flexible in close-range combat than them, Aurora and I should move on; and maybe we will, but that decision can wait until we're all done celebrating the win. After all, it isn't every day you compete against old friends inbattle for both fame and the honor of your kingdom, especially in an arena as grand as Amity Colosseum.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **If you're wondering, I sorta figured it'd be for the best to give Opal a chance to have a short but sweet journal entry in the aftermath of the chaos that was Iridescence's run-in with the Greater Cerberus. Besides, I don't think Opal would have much involvement with Emerald – the person – since it seemed like in the show they were only interested in RWBY. Are they keeping tabs on everyone in the school? Probably, but the canon story never really specifies that, so ye.**

 **Also, I debated making a – minor spoilers – third OC team as Iridescence's first hurdle, but I figured I'd have more fun writing about and thinking through how SSSN would fare against Iridescence. All things considered, I think it'd be pretty even. Sage might be more measured with his strength than what we've seen from Tenebris, but with Boomstick on the battlefield, it's not unlikely they'd end up destroying part of the arena – taking themselves with it. Aurora's cables would likely run circles around Neptune thanks to the rocky terrain long enough for her to see an opening, and though Neptune can use electricity on her metal armor, I sorta figured Aurora wouldn't be foolish enough to let him pin down one of her cables to turn them into live wires. As for Lux and Opal's fights? I think my decisions for those outcomes hold up rather well. Lux sucks at close-range combat, and Opal is a ninja catgirl who's just more mobile than Scarlet – who seems to rely on his pistol to get up and down from what we've seen.**

 **Man, I babble on a lot in these author's notes huh? Dang.**


	10. Celebrations & The Second Hurdle

Surprise and Celebrations:

Out of all the things I expected to see when we were dropped off at Beacon's docks, I think Ruby's uncle fighting Weiss' big sister had to have been _below_ the bottom of the list. I don't think JNPR and my team had moved twenty feet away from Ruby on our way to the fairgrounds when we heard a drunk gain everyone's attention for destroying some Atlesian androids. Seeing as we were in no rush and I was curious to see how a drunk guy would fare against an Atlas specialist, we stuck around – and I think I'm glad we did. It was a mix of hilarious, sad, and awe-inspiring to see Qrow manage to go toe to toe with a fully-trained Schnee while inebriated, even if that meant I had to duck under some of their gunfire as their impromptu match got more and more heated. I almost wished Ozpin didn't show up to break the two of them up; the scythe Qrow's weapon was turning into looked like it was gonna be a showstopper, and I'll admit that I can understand why Ruby looks so much up to him. Drunkenness aside, Qrow seems like he really cares about his family, at least enough to train Ruby in the way of the scythe, as the little lady in question later informed me.

As if watching two grown Huntsmen duking it out on the docks wasn't enough of a surprise for the day, as Qrow and Winter were being escorted out of the area, I caught a glimpse of the same airship that'd brought Aurora and I to Beacon – my parents had come to visit. Since they'd never really been fans of combat just for the sport of it beyond watching me spar, it was a huge surprise to see them come to Vale to watch me in the tournament, not that I'm complaining. Aurora's parents wanted to come, but unfortunately, they had to stay behind thanks to some minor criminal troubles. It was nothing serious though, judging by both what my parents had to tell us as well as by the letter Aurora's parents sent her in the package Dad delivered for them. The package was just a little coin of the same metal she can manipulate emblazoned with her naginata-and-cable symbol on it, but I think it meant a lot to Aurora judging by the smile that grew on her face when she saw it. The only thing that unnerved me about the whole family reunion was introducing Mom and Dad to my ring of friends.

RWBY I wasn't worried about. The four of them didn't need to even try to be formal around my parents, so they just acted themselves and made a good first impression, even with Ruby's odd way of interacting with new people. No, I was worried about introducing them to JNPR and my teammates – and of course, Lux. Thank the gods Ren kept Nora reeled in while Pyrrha and Jaune introduced themselves, otherwise, I'd have to explain why I was hanging out with someone whose mind was more predominantly focused on pancakes and lightning than their studies to become a Huntress. When RWBY and JNPR were finished introducing themselves and went on their way, that left us with just the twins to introduce before my parents left to go settle in their hotel room. Despite the fact my parents trust me and everything – and I'd already told them a bunch about Lux and how we're dating – I _was_ worried that either he or Tenebris were going to introduce themselves by mentioning how our first week as a team ended in us literally fighting it out, but they both had enough clarity of mind to stay on their best behavior and omit that detail. After some small talk about Vacuo and the less-than-smooth upbringing the two of them had moved past to attend Beacon, my parents left without a single bad opinion of either my boyfriend nor another one of my new closest friends. It's not that I expected them to, it's just that I could never pin down what the two of them expected of me when it came to picking friends. They never gave me a guideline for friends or dating or anything like that, but I generally like to have my friends come across as less 'living balls of quirks' and more 'people with hearts of pure gold' when it comes to first impressions.

After those introductions finally ended and I finished thanking Lux for not making a flirtatious joke in front of my parents that'd make me want to freaking _die_ , it was off to the fairgrounds – and man did we end up doing a lot there. Lux utterly trounced the dart throwing stand's challenges (which I suspect has a little something to do with his Semblance) and within twenty minutes managed to get his hands on a rare figurine of Port battling an Alpha Beowolf with his bare hands _and_ a little stuffed peacock for me. It might've been something that, coming from anyone else, I'd just laugh at, but coming from Lux? Coming from him I couldn't help but just smile at him showing that he's thinking about making me happy whenever he can – even if that means I now have to figure out a place to put this stuffed peacock. After that, Tenebris decided to have us spend his part of our time at the fairground watching him test his mettle at an arm-wrestling tournament, which I will say was more entertaining than I thought it'd be. Half an hour easily felt like two as he nearly won the five times in a row required to take home the pot. He utterly trounced Cardin and two of his cronies and eked out a win against Nora, but totally underestimated Yatsuhashi. Since he was still riding the adrenaline high of beating Nora, I don't think he even noticed his loss until Coco started cheering about Yatsuhashi's victory and Velvet whipped out her camera. I don't think I'll ever see the great wielder of Boomstick ever look more defeated and confused than he did when he realized he was out of the running.

Then it was my turn to decide what we were gonna occupy ourselves with next, and it didn't take me long to decide what. As soon as I saw the Vegetable Shinobi hut open up to see who could try and beat the last Vytal Festival's record, I knew I had to join in on the action. If there's one thing my time with Pigsy as a chef taught me, it's how to chop vegetables faster than people could blink – the fact they were flying at me the whole time was only a small added challenge. Unsurprisingly, I just about trounced all the competition, and I was content to bring home a basket of fine vegetables for the team – and more specifically Lux and Tenebris, since Tenebris loves food and I wanted to pay Lux back for what happened with Team SSSN – as my prize, but the hut owner was kind enough to give me a little bonus. He gave me the choice of either a peacock-patterned black and green belt or a new whetstone; and, seeing how I already had one of the finest whetstones money could buy from back home, I chose the belt. Not only is it something that's both fashionable and comfortable, but it has my family's spirit animal on it, so it was a win-win!

Aurora's plan for us took up the rest of our free time before we called it quits, but not due to us running out of daylight. She signed herself up for a parkour contest that allowed all contestants to use whatever skills and tools they had at their disposal to try and win both an unlimited noodle prize and, of course, bragging rights. Thanks to her cables and familiarity with needing to think quickly when it came to movement, she ended up neck-and-neck with Sun until the bitter end, when his spectral clones broke the finish line – buying him the win by technicality. He was a good sport about it though and decided to split the unlimited noodle prize with everyone. Seeing as we'd come into the possession of quite a few fine vegetables earlier that same afternoon and Tenebris looked absolutely elated at the idea of making a massive pot of noodles for everyone, we quickly made our way back to the dorms. We later enjoyed a vegetable-laden meal with SSSN, as well as RWBY and JNPR once they picked up on the smell of what we were cooking, for the rest of the evening, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to end the day. From exhilarating fights (sanctioned or not), to seeing my parents again and Lux making a good first impression, to our victories at the fairgrounds, I don't think I could ask for a better day if I tried. Just seeing Lux smile and have so much fun in a single day is enough to call the day a win – Iridescence moving on to the doubles round and making the most of the fairgrounds is just icing on the cake.

* * *

The Second Hurdle:

As if the team round wasn't an exciting enough time to tune in to the Vytal Festival, the doubles round is proving to be just as incredible by all accounts – including my parents, which is a plus. Penny's matchup against Cardin's crew had to have been where things really kicked off today. Even though it was an absolute stomp in favor of Penny and Ciel, it was still exciting to see Penny in action for the first time in weeks. She may not have the grace and fluidity with her swords that Aurora does when it comes to her cables, but the raw firepower behind every one of her attacks makes me think part of her has a kindred spirit with Tenebris – at least so far as destructive capability goes.

Even more impressive than Penny's match was RWBY versus FNKI. With Weiss and Yang on the case, I fully expected them to win no problem, but I suppose the one-sidedness of Penny's match had me thinking the doubles round was going to consist of nothing but over-the-top displays of power and curb stomps. Flynt Coal and Neon Katt were their opponents, and I could imagine the fact that Flynt's dad had his Dust shop run out of business by the Schnee Dust Company only added to the intensity of the fight. That having been said, I don't think it was necessary for Neon to harass Yang nonstop about her weight just to piss her off. Strategic advantage or not, the Vytal Tournament is about displaying the best talents each kingdom has to offer, not bullying your competitor so much their Semblance kicks it into overdrive.

Regardless, for a team coming from Atlas, Aurora and I were thinking that they'd have a very rehearsed and dignified way of fighting fellow Huntsmen-in-training. We were right about one thing – their way of fighting was very clearly rehearsed, but dignified? That depends on if you could call playing energetic funk music through your trumpet of a weapon as a basis for the rhythm of your fight could be called dignified. Even with hours of contemplation after the fact, I'm still not sure if it would be better classified as just impressive, rather than dignified. At any rate, once her rhythm was offset by Yang knocking Flynt out, Neon quickly fell to RWBY's heavy hitter. What's more, I think I overheard Flynt saying he thought Weiss fought well, which was a nice change of tune from the clear contempt he held for her prior to the fight.

I didn't have time to ask anyone if I'd heard Flynt right though, since Aurora and I had to gear up for our fight against Team SHDW of Shade Academy – or more specifically, Ashe Hoodlum and Dust Clops. After Lux gave me a quick hug and a kiss good luck and Tenebris nearly bowled Aurora over with an encouraging clap on the back, we were off. The two of them were what I expected FNKI to be if I'm entirely honest, with a little bit of the standard quirkiness and standoffishness I'd learned to expect from people from Vacuo mixed in. They were cold and calculated but had enough brashness and arrogance that made it clear they had trained in anything but the standardized environment Atlas' academies employed; but with the amount of skill they fought with, you'd never realize they were as self-taught as most students to come out of Vacuo. Before I could look past their idle threats and think about what tricks they might've had up their sleeves, I had to stop and consider what kind of biomes we'd be fighting in. Mountains, an urban sprawl, a swamp, and even a tropical rainforest rose out of the colosseum's underbelly, and I knew where me and Aurora would be splitting up.

Aurora took on Dust in the swamp and the rainforest portions of the arena, using the foliage and wide distances between trees to keep herself at a respectable enough range that he couldn't sneak up on her easily. Judging by how Aurora described how he used his revolver-knives like a trained assassin, I think it was a great strategy. In fact, it was solid enough to have Dust bust out his Semblance to turn into a dust cloud pretty early in the fight – rushing right through Aurora's gunfire, trying to get a good hit in, and slipping away all faster than Aurora's cables or naginata could take advantage of. Unfortunately for Dust, Aurora was smarter than whoever he'd faced in the team round, and she quickly started whipping up a whirlwind with her cables, flinging around fallen branches like fans and forcing Dust to either stand his ground without his Semblance or risk being flat-out blown out of the arena. Aurora of course pressed the advantage, slingshotting herself into Dust's chest and sending him flying out of the arena before he could even think about countering with his knives. My only regret was that I had to watch recordings of it happening instead of witnessing it myself.

While Aurora was busy with Dust in the more natural parts of the arena, Ashe and I were dueling our way from one side of the mountain biome to the furthest reaches of the urban sprawl and back again. Between her obvious affinity to one-on-one swordplay and her wheel-lock pistol, I'll admit that although I did keep my composure on the outside, inwardly I was scrambling to find an opening before her third-year experience over me started showing itself. It didn't help that whenever I tried to flush her out with an arrow or two she'd simply use her Semblance to blink out of my line of fire or close the gap entirely. If it wasn't for the fact she used her Semblance so liberally, I don't think I would've figured out how to take her down. She had a very distinct rhythm I don't think even Aurora would've picked up on when it came time for us to cross blades or parry shots from one another. She would blink in, strike, feint a blink to try and catch me off guard, either strike or try and land a shot on me with her pistol, and then blink out. I noticed that her feint was not just a feint for deception's sake, her Semblance seemed to need a moment to recharge in between uses, and her pretending to be able to use it so rapidly was simply her trying to mess with her opponent's head. With that in mind, I stopped narrowly avoiding falling into her trap over and over, and began focusing more on where she tended to blink when she could. It wasn't long before I predicted where she'd blink next, and I nearly caught her in the chest with an upwards strike mid-blink, setting her off balance just long enough for me to break her Aura with a follow-up downwards slash.

According to most people watching – despite the slow-motion replays – it looked like I just got lucky, but everyone I knew in the stands, my parents included, were cheering louder than I'd ever heard for Aurora and me. It had to have been the finest performance I've had so far when it came to reading an opponent other than my friends, and I was so excited when I realized I won I hardly noticed the fact I was absolutely caked in dirt whipped up from the speed of our fight. Mom and Dad were so excited to see me do so well that they took everyone – even _Sun_ – out to dinner at a pretty casual restaurant after the fact, and I was surprised once again to see just how hype Ruby could get over a fight. I would say she was flattering Aurora and I even more than Lux was with all the excitement in her voice, but even Blake seemed far more animated than she usually was when it came to talk concerning any of our matchups, really. Oh, and gods bless Lux – him and his charm never fail to make me grateful to have met him whenever he finds a new way to make me blush with his praise.

Lux's subdued flirting aside, Iridescence decided to send me on to the finals because of how well I read Ashe despite her having far more experience than me, and I wasn't about to argue with that logic when they came to that decision. All I have to do now is pray that if I don't end up winning this whole thing, that I'll at least end up losing with some more grace than some other contestants. Not that I'm not gonna give it my all, I will, it's just I don't know if I have it in me to keep up my current performance without some miracle happening, especially with how the competition is shaping up. Anyway, in my eyes, I've already won, what with how Lux is looking at me with those admiring eyes of his that he gives me whenever he's awestruck by me when we spar – though lucky for me when we're alone, those eyes can mean just a _little_ something more than just wholesome admiration.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Shout-out to Dunedan for being the amazing inspiration for Team Iridescence's fairground festivities! I never realized how much I loved the idea of Fruit Ninja existing in real life for those living in Remnant until I started brainstorming ideas for this chapter. Oh, did I mention there's a Fruit Ninja reference in here somewhere in this chapter? XD**

 **Also, fun facts; I took inspiration for Team SHDW (didja guess it's pronounced Shadow?) from a mix of Pokémon, Dishonored, and Overwatch. Ashe and Dust's names are references to Pokémon (obviously), Ashe's Semblance and kit refers to Emily Kaldwin's new game+ "Blink" ability as well as her sword + pistol combo, and Dust's Semblance I took inspiration from Reaper/Gabriel Reyes in Overwatch. Praise be to other franchises for inspiration!**


	11. Finals & Failure

Finals:

Today's been both one of the most exhilarating and terrifying days of my life, and I'm not sure if that's entirely for the right reasons. I don't know what in the name of the gods got into Yang's head when she was fighting Mercury, but I know for a _fact_ that she would never severely hurt an opponent without some kind of foul play being involved. For a first match of the finals, Yang fought Mercury with the same ferocity that everyone's expected of her, yeah, but once she had him defeated, something inside of her must've snapped. That's the only logical explanation I can come up with for Yang busting Mercury's knee out like she did – she's far too kind and genuine a person to have done something like that normally, let alone on a worldwide broadcast. What's more, the second she was done she looked genuinely remorseful, which only makes me think I'm just as in the dark as everyone else when it comes to what exactly happened to make her act the way she did. I almost wish the intermission didn't leave enough time for my match still play out before the end of the day too, because having to give my parents a rushed explanation of why I thought Yang was innocent before going off into a finals match must've been one of the most stressful things I've had to do.

I didn't exactly have much time to have my thoughts dwell on Yang (or even Lux giving me a kiss good luck, for that matter) before I was called to the colosseum and my opponent was selected. I was more than surprised to be pitted against Max Rosso, leader of Team MYHM, for the exact same reason Team FNKI surprised me – he was unexpected. Not only was he a guy from Atlas who looked like he was out of a cheesy crime flick, with a deck of cards to match, but his entire fighting style was based on unpredictability. Each one of his cards combined with his speed-amplifying Semblance to turn his deck of cards into a ranged Dust weapon with more speed and stopping power than some full-blown military-grade weapons could provide, and the fact he had a cane-and-sword weapon combo didn't make things any easier. Every time I would get close, a new combo of cards being flung and his weapon being thrown around would catch me by surprise, and it was everything I could do to avoid his attacks and try to find a method to his madness, which by some miracle _I did_. In the middle of the fight, a part of me just _clicked_ , and such a powerful feeling of serenity washed over me that I almost forgot I was in the tournament finals and not a laid-back sparring match. Time felt like it slowed for just a moment, and in that split second, I noticed how Max relied on his deck-carrying gauntlet to make the most out of his cards, and so my plan to separate him from the deck took shape. Granted, my strategy of getting the deck out of his hands consisted of mostly recklessly charging at him, but I think even _he_ didn't expect me to throw my tempered fighting style to the wind in favor of punching him upside the jaw and flinging his gauntlet out of the arena.

After that, he floundered entirely, and I secured my spot moving on in the next round of finals as I disarmed him and kicked him off the stage. The weird thing is that the second the match was over, that serenity I felt quickly gave way to my heart beating faster than I'd ever imagined it could, as if my body and my Semblance had only just come out of overdrive. Come to think of it, that might've been just what happened – or nearly happened. What Port and Oobleck wrote off as a glitch of the camera, with my eyes appearing to glow green for a split second, might've actually been my Semblance almost unveiling some untapped potential I've not yet been aware of. Whether that's due to my training or the intensity and desperation of my fight with Max I don't know, but I am stoked to see whether my suspicions about my Semblance having even more to offer me that I've yet to discover is true or not.

Weiss certainly seems to think so, in any case. When my parents finally let us go and we were hanging with the rest of RWBY (after a brief stop at the fairgrounds for some noodles), Weiss told me that it isn't unheard of for someone's Semblance to have potential its user isn't even aware of until they truly test the limits of its power. Case in point, the Schnees have a family Semblance of being able to utilize glyphs, but Weiss has yet to explore the summoning applications of it due to the difficulty involved. I didn't need her to blatantly tell me that I need to continue honing my Semblance to unlock my true potential, but it was nice to hear her try to steer me in the right direction. Lux is certainly nothing but supportive of the idea of me becoming even more skilled with my Semblance than I already am, at the very least. Who knows? Maybe during my next finals match, I'll be able to trigger that feeling again, and I'll discover what my Semblance is truly capable of.

* * *

Failure:

In hindsight, maybe I should've looked deeper into Yang's incident with Mercury than I did. Maybe then I would've seen the signs of an imminent disaster and could've tried to do something, _anything,_ to stop Beacon from falling, or at the very least minimize the amount of panic that the entire city felt those short few weeks ago. Thanks to me not seeing the writing on the wall, Pyrrha and Penny's match was the beginning of the end for Beacon and so much more, and it'll be something that I'm sure haunts Pyrrha for the rest of her life. Whatever happened to make her outright _kill_ Penny instead of just incapacitate her like we all knew she would normally I don't know, but whatever the case, Penny was outright _dismembered_ by the same strings she used to control her blades thanks to Pyrrha's Semblance. Everyone knew that was something Pyrrha would've never done if she was in a perfect state of mind, but we were all too in shock after finding out Penny was an _android_ of all things to even try and console her. As if Penny dying right in front of us wasn't bad enough, Emerald's 'teammate' Cinder hijacked the broadcast of the tournament and began spouting rhetoric that did nothing but inspire even more panic and fear in everyone at Amity Colosseum, drawing in the Grimm in numbers no one had seen in decades.

As most of the spectators evacuated, all that was left was the teams of the participants that were there for the other matches and a Nevermore than managed to punch through the shield of the place. Of course, we'd all been training all our lives for this sort of thing, and we brought the Grimm down in seconds after calling in our lockers and arming ourselves for the fight ahead. For a while things looked rather cut and dry, despite the chaos, and I thought that maybe the Grimm attack was the worst of what Cinder had planned. I was a gods-damned fool for thinking that. We fought our way through to the docks to make our way into the city when General Ironwood himself gave us a choice – while he went to go and reclaim his ship (from Torchwick, as I later found out), we could choose to either get to a safe zone or fight to defend Vale. Even though it was a choice all of us had already decided on, it was at least inspiring to some people – such as Lux – to have Ironwood address us as Huntsmen first and foremost, not students that were beneath him due to his seniority.

As soon as we saw Ironwood fly by on his mission to take his ship back, he was blown out of the sky. Though he did turn out to have survived in the end, with none of us having a clue as to his fate in the moment, Ruby took it upon herself to take back Atlas' hijacked command ship and leapt out of the airbus taking us to Beacon on a one-woman mission to do just that. I wasn't in any state of mind to let a friend jeopardize their life alone, so, after assuring the team (and more specifically, Lux) I was going to be okay, I leapt after her to help. Our landing was about as accurate as it could have been with the two of us using our lockers as makeshift aircraft, but even then, we were split up upon landing.

While Ruby was fighting for her life against Torchwick and Neo, I was desperately fighting my way through dozens of Atlesian Knights to try and get to her before she was knocked off. By the time I cleaved through enough of the androids to have a chance at making it to Ruby, she was dangling over the edge of the ship with Neo about to finish her off. So, what did I do? I charged Neo off before they could react, in hopes Ruby would emerge victorious in a one-on-one duel with Torchwick – which she did. Even though it was the right thing to do, and I don't regret helping Ruby come out on top, part of me wonders what I could've done to avoid what came next.

Seeing as I wasn't about to let a henchman of Torchwick who'd tried to kill one of my friends get away, once we landed, I took on Neo. She might've had amazing defense and an intimidating presence, sure, but I felt that with my training and skills I'd be able to at least apprehend one of the people responsible for the chaos. For a while, I thought I was right. I may not have been able to score any decisive blows thanks to her defense and experience over me, but I did have her on the back foot the entire time. I was so focused, so gripped by the fight, that I didn't even notice my parents running towards me from their hotel room until it was too late. Neo took their appearance as her opportunity to escape, and she fired at a fallen Atlesian Paladin's fire Dust container. I wasn't smart enough to put two and two together in time, I wasn't fast enough to stop the explosion or save my parents, and I was too gods-damned _weak_ to even try and track down Neo after I saw them enveloped by the fireball. My parents couldn't do anything more than grip my hand for a few moments and cough out that they loved me when I got to them before they died, and the world lost so much of its color to me in that moment that I could've sworn I died with them.

I don't know how long I was hovering over them in shock, but that familiar serenity I felt against Max returned, but it was marred by the dead faces of my parents so greatly I hardly noticed the green flames on my shoulders and in my eyes until I caught a glimpse of myself in a broken mirror. All I knew in that moment was that I needed to stop anyone else close to me from dying, to never let my weakness end up getting another one of my loved ones killed – I figured that at least that way, maybe my entire reason for wanting to become a Huntress wouldn't be for nothing. I don't know how long it took for me to get to Beacon from the city despite the wind in my face telling me I was moving at higher speeds than what I'd only ever achieved in bursts before, but I do know I arrived just in time to lop off an Atlesian Paladin's limbs right as it made a charge towards my friends. I barely felt the metal resist Emerald, and at that point, I knew that my Semblance's potential had truly come to bare. I was faster, stronger, more tactical, and more flexible in the use of my skills than I'd ever been before, and I was ready to make the skies fall down to earth if that meant making sure no one else got hurt. Even though it was unintentional at first, I even summoned some silhouettes of myself out of my spiritual flames that either mimicked my actions or watched my back like they were their own independent beings. At the time I didn't think twice about it, but now I know that the summons are another gift my Semblance has bestowed upon me that I can hone in the future. Maybe if I do, I won't fail at protecting those close to me all over again.

Even though there was a tide of Grimm for us to deal with at the forefront of our list of priorities, in retrospect I do feel bad that I just about gave my team the cold shoulder when Lux asked if I was okay. The amount of torture I'd just been through must've been showing for him to have looked past me being partially aflame in favor of showing more concern about my emotional state than the imminent possibility of Beacon falling, but at the time I was in no mood to entertain any talk of how I was feeling – even with him. Soon after we secured the docks and Port and Oobleck began telling everyone evacuation was mandatory in the face of the Grimm wyvern circling the academy, Ruby and Weiss were off to try and save Pyrrha, who'd gone after Cinder alone. It was painful, having to beg my team to stay behind and make sure everyone else's safety was put above my own, but I wasn't in the mood to let anyone else close to me die because of me not protecting them, so I left to make sure Ruby and Weiss didn't fall.

Despite their numbers, it wasn't long before the three of us cut through enough Grimm to reach Beacon Tower. Weiss provided us glyphs to ascend as fast as we could, and without her help, I have no doubt in my mind I wouldn't have been able to climb the tower fast enough to save Pyrrha. We arrived in the nick of time – if I'd have even taken a moment longer to intercept the arrow Cinder had trained on her, Pyrrha would've died right then and there. I stalled for time as best I could so that Ruby could help Pyrrha down the tower, and for a while I thought I could even beat Cinder, that maybe I could make all the suffering end right then and there. I was wrong. I might've been able to dodge and parry everything Cinder sent my way thanks to my Semblance, but the drain of both nonstop fighting and my ascended state itself, coupled with the emotions boiling inside me did nothing but assure my defeat in the end. Once Cinder started taunting me, telling me how Neo informed her about how badly I failed by parents, I ignored the warning signs of her trap and rushed in without a plan. I ignored the part of me that screamed that neither my mind nor body was ready to face Cinder, and I was overwhelmed in moments.

I hardly felt the cold burning of her blades entering my gut over the rage I felt, having failed _once again_ to do anything more but inconvenience the same people who'd brought about the end of so much that was so close to me. The last thing I remember happening before passing out was her pulling the blades out of me as she gloated and Ruby screaming my name as her silver eyes lit up like the sun, ethereal wings stretching out of them as if to try and exact revenge on Cinder for what she'd done.

It's been a few weeks since the fall of Beacon and, as it turns out, a lot happened in the meantime. Qrow was the first person to fill me in on everything I wasn't aware of, as well as the first person I saw when I woke up – evidently, he was giving my team a break (or forcing one upon them, in Lux's case, since he refused to leave my side) from sleeping on the floor next to me after he saw Ruby regain consciousness before me. He told me that Ruby somehow petrified the wyvern, that my Aura has long since healed the wounds I sustained fighting Cinder, that I did an excellent job saving Pyrrha; but I think he was just trying to distract me from the fact everyone knew about my parents' deaths by then. I might've done well in _his_ eyes, but I couldn't help but feel I could've done so much more. No matter how much he tried to make a silver lining out of things to make me feel better, that didn't change how much has been lost. My parents are dead, Yang's lost an arm as well as her will to fight, Blake's run away, Weiss' been taken back to Atlas, Beacon's been destroyed, Pyrrha's ankle is so torn up she might never be the same fighter she was again; the list goes on of what _did_ go wrong despite my best efforts. I think hearing about all that went wrong, coupled with the sympathy over my parents my team gave me as soon as they rushed into the room is what made me finally break down, though. Even if I didn't want to let the grief finally hit me, I think letting the floodgates open in the arms of those closest to me was the only thing I could do at the moment that even partially helped me cope with my life being flipped upside down – even if seeing Lux so torn up about me almost dying just about killed me all on its own.

Despite everything, the world continues spinning, and Ruby's decided the best thing she could do right now is head to Haven Academy to inform them of everything that's transpired here. Even though Ruby told me she wouldn't blame me if I stayed behind to recover, and that she has JNPR – save for Pyrrha, who's still recovering at Ruby's dad's place – I decided the best thing to do would be to have Iridescence accompany her. I'd be damned if I was gonna let my friends go on a dangerous journey to Mistral without me there to help protect them. I may have failed my parents, but I'm going to make sure I don't fail those close to me again. Not only that, but with my parents gone, someone has to deliver the news to the Sanzang, Pigsy, and Sandy that there's still one blood heir to the clan left in the world, and who better to do that than me? At the very least, the journey will help me hone my ascended state. I may not have cared how it worked when I first discovered it, but I more than plan on starting to hone and understand it as soon as I can. I don't care if I have to give up on sleep and rest; so long as I can prevent the people I have left in my life from dying, I'll readily accept the consequences of my training.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **So before I get on about the finale part of this chapter, I wanted to establish something. I've always felt like all Semblances are implied by Winter to have added oomph to them if properly studied, since summoning is sorta implied to be the end-point of any Schnee's study of their glyphs. As such, I thought it'd be interesting to toy around with the idea of a ninja-like Semblance having a lot more power to provide Opal than simple agility and tactical skill.**

 **You may be wondering why Opal is so torn up about her parents' deaths and not exhibiting the same stress-coping meditation techniques she's taught to Jaune. My reasoning for this was that, up until now, Opal's never had to employ them to deal with true tragedy herself. You always think you know how you'll act in a crisis until it happens, and Opal is no different; thus, I thought her emotionally recoiling was a natural reaction to have after such a world-changing series of events. That isn't to say she's gonna be self-loathing/moping around forever though. She does have a great support network to help her along the path to forgiving herself, or just moving on in general after the Volume 3-to-4 time skip. So that'll be good.**


	12. Growth & Forgiveness

Growth:

Well, it only took a few weeks for us to get ourselves involved in a bombastic mission again on our way to Mistral, but I suppose the amount of time we've been traveling without conflict might just have been good luck on our part. We weren't in Gudu long enough to even resupply before we'd heard of a Geist wreaking havoc on the village for months, and of course, we offered to help. I would've been okay with the satisfaction of knowing we'd helped keep people safe as our only reward, but the village elder was kind enough to offer their blacksmith's services in return for our help. Granted, Jaune had to go into the fight without any of his kit – since his was the only one of the gang's that was in desperate need of an upgrade – but he did help in his own way by working with Lux to come up with a plan.

While Ruby and I were luring the boulder-possessing Geist towards RNJR (which I think is easily a better name than JNRR for the rest of the gang), Tenebris, Lux, and Aurora were waiting in the trees to leap onto the thing and distract it. Even though the fight was eight versus one, I still think the strategy made the battle a lot easier. If Lux and Jaune weren't there to point out the Geist was only concerned about its face and not the rest of its body, I've no doubt that Tenebris and I would've been left to repeatedly blow through the Grimm's body until the sun went down – since everyone else's weapons seemed to do next to nothing to it. After Jaune took a moment to distract it alongside Aurora, Tenebris tossed Nora hard enough into the Geist to send its vulnerable body running, and no one was able to tell after the fact if it was Ruby or Lux that landed the killing blow.

By the time we got back to Gudu, the blacksmith was already done with his work, and Jaune was kitted out with some armor and a sword-shield combo that _didn't_ look like it came out of a cereal box, unlike his sweatshirt, which actually did. I think Pyrrha would be proud Jaune's gotten around to finally upgrading his gear instead of wallowing in the memories of his family heirloom's past, and seeing as she wasn't there, I said as much. Jaune certainly seemed to appreciate the idea, especially after being away from Pyrrha for weeks already. The blacksmith's work was so fine in fact that I think even Sandy or my dad – rest his soul – would be impressed by the snappy upgrade. Speaking of, Sandy traveled and protected my parents whenever they traveled Mistral decades ago, and I can only imagine that me showing up alive will alleviate some of the stress he and the other inner council members might be feeling after what happened at Beacon. Who knows, maybe he'll even feel a little pride at hearing about me acting like a guardian to my friends like he was to my parents.

What's more, concerning the inner council's storied past, one of those stories might very well be coming back around to bite me sooner rather than later. Spider webs are nothing unusual to spot in the wilderness, sure, but I've been spotting distinctly hammock-like webs on our travels, which can only mean one thing – Arach Nid might be watching us. It isn't an absurd assumption either – the spider Faunus is better at tracking and hiding in plain sight than anyone I've ever heard of, and he has all the reason in the world to be hunting us, or at least me. Sanzang, Pigsy, and Sandy destroyed his band of raiders that were harassing my clan's trade caravans long ago, and as soon as the three of them were adopted into the clan he disappeared off the map entirely. The three of them would always tell me that Arach was simply hiding, biding his time so that he could take revenge on anyone related to my parents or the inner council, and now I know their warnings to be true. Since I'm something of an obvious member of the Malachite Clan with what I wear and how I look, of course it would make sense for him to be looking for an opportunity to catch me off guard. With him being a master of his double-sided spear, being caught off guard could be a death sentence, which is yet another reason I'm glad I've been training instead of sleeping at night.

I've been making a lot of progress in honing and understanding my ascended state, all things considered. I may not be able to minimize or outright ignore the drain it places on me yet or anything, but the discoveries and improvements I have made more than make up for it in my eyes. Even though my silhouettes eat away at the power and accessibility of my spiritual flames while they're active, I have been able to master summoning them without a second thought, which makes them excellent sparring partners that won't rat out my self-denial of sleep to everyone else. Speaking of my spiritual flames, I've managed to incorporate them into my martial arts in case I'm disarmed, and even Emerald so that I have some more literal firepower without the use of Dust in its blade or bow form. Granted I can't make these things happen without any effort like I can with my silhouettes, but it is good to know that the longer I hone my ascended state, the easier these feats are going to become. On top of the supernatural speed and power my Semblance can now provide me, I think that once I do master my ascended state I'll be more than capable of taking on Arach. So long as I live, he's not going to harm anyone I love to get to me; not my boyfriend, not my teammates, not RNJR, _nobody_. Not when I've already lost so much.

I'm not the only one sneaking off at night to train myself, either. I've spotted Jaune's doing the same thing, but with a lot less intensity than what I do behind everyone's backs – not that I could imagine him doing so. His family is still alive and well, Pyrrha is safe and recovering back with Tai and Yang, and I think his training with Pyrrha's videos is his way of remembering and honoring his girlfriend's advice to improve his skills while she's out of commission. Not only that, but I've spotted him meditating on his own too, which I think is more than enough evidence to tell me he's probably one of the most stable of our party right about now. He may be as shaken as any of us after what's been happening lately, but at least he's hard at work to rise above the crisis entirely whereas even Nora or the twins' jokes have been tainted by melancholy some days, albeit rarely. Anyway, we should be able to make it to Shion in relatively short order, which'll be good for my training if we stop there for the night. While everyone's asleep in the inn, I won't have to worry about someone who's standing watch spotting me on my way out of camp.

* * *

Forgiveness:

Of course, I shouldn't have assumed Shion would still be intact. With the CCTS down, I think it's almost safer to assume anywhere besides a kingdom capital will be found destroyed by the Grimm or raiders without any way to call for help. By the time the village was within sight, we immediately knew something was wrong. The place was on fire from a recent attack, every house and shop was either sacked or in ruins, and the only person there we found alive was a Huntsman who died within minutes of our arrival. Needless to say, everyone was still shaken after we finally moved on, myself included, and that's when I got sloppy about sneaking out to train. Usually I made sure that Jaune was already out and about training himself before sneaking away, but I guess I was too blinded by the fact I'd been too slow _again_ to save people to notice that Jaune had yet to leave camp when I left. In hindsight, I'm glad that I made the mistake, that I was too torn up over Shion to care about being found out, because I think I really needed what happened after Jaune decided to tell everyone what I'd been doing, seeing as I've had to hide _bruises_ some days from the rest of the gang with what I've done with my silhouettes.

That morning, Jaune ratted me out for what my training had been doing to me. For whatever reason though, despite the fact I'd been going behind everyone's backs to train myself half to death and back and refused to sleep out of a commitment to my training, everyone – and more specifically, Lux and Jaune – were as softly concerned with my well-being as they were when I woke up back in Patch. As soon as Lux started pleading and _begging_ me to give my training a break, so I wouldn't run myself ragged like Blake did during our investigation of the White Fang, I realized just how much what I'd been doing hurt those I wanted to protect, and I had to fight the urge to curl up in a ball and beg for his forgiveness right then and there. When Jaune called me out on my actions being selfish despite my good intent, I knew he was right. I was so focused on myself, so focused on redemption only coming on my own terms, that I was endangering everyone around me by destroying myself. Seeing as they only wanted to help me, when Ruby and Jaune offered to have us all stop moving for the day, so my team could make sure I was _really_ okay, I of course agreed, and they helped me find at least some semblance of relief concerning my parents' deaths for the first time in weeks. Granted, it did take all day and we didn't make any progress on the road because of Lux and Aurora basically giving me therapy, but I'm grateful that no one had an issue with making sure I was ready to continue our journey without doing anything that'd hurt myself. Just seeing Lux smile and be able to believe that I was beginning to really recover was enough for me, in the end, but I think I was too busy asking for _his_ forgiveness to realize all he wanted was for me to get back to my normal self – at least at first. By the time we got done talking and Lux finished convincing me he still loved me all the same despite how distant I was being, I think that a weight was lifted from my shoulders I didn't even realize was there.

I may not ever entirely live down my failure to save my parents, but I can at least begin to forgive myself and live on for those I love that I still have left. To that end, I think I'm gonna stop training myself half to death. I can still meditate on my Semblance to hone it in a way that doesn't involve any self-destructive levels of training, and even though it's slower, it'll still be a way of better preparing myself for the future – both physically and mentally. I just wish I'd realized how selfish I was being sooner. While I've been busy overexerting myself every night as if that'll help us if and when Arach Nid shows himself, my teammates and my boyfriend have been patiently waiting weeks for me to come back to them, so they could continue helping me recover. I probably should tell everyone about Arach Nid too, but I don't want to add any more of a burden onto their backs than what I've already put on them. They've already had to spend a day worrying about how I was destroying myself over events I couldn't have possibly changed, so the least I could do now is give them enough time to realize I'm on the road to a full recovery before dropping some more bad news on them. Besides, judging by the looks Lux's been throwing me every five minutes to make sure I'm still here, I think sitting by his side and letting him know how much I love him despite what I was doing behind his back is the least I could do right now – especially after he spent most of the day today helping me work through my own issues.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **To answer to the obvious question – no, I do not think I was being subtle with Arach's name, not at all. By the by I did try to work Sun's family in there somewhere (I even came up with a name for his dad – Rakesh, meaning moon in Indian) but eventually I settled on there being no relation to avoid unneeded convolution regarding the Malachite Clan's history. Oh, and Gudu means "lonely" in Chinese, and since that village seemed in the middle of nowhere, I figured it worked best instead of just calling it 'the village.'**

 **As for the second entry, I both preferred Opal not to be down in the dumps for any longer than the volumes' gaps made necessary, but I also felt like her support network is too strong to let her continue any self-destructive activities once her friends find out what she's been up to at night. Sometimes the most powerful thing you could do to help someone is just** _ **talk**_ **to them, and I figured that with weeks of time between the fall of Beacon and now, perhaps Opal could be more receptive to their pleading than she would've been, say, a week after her parents' deaths. Oh, and since most of her day was spent in a mock-therapy session with her team, I think the short and sweet format for the latter half of this chapter made more sense than an in-depth log of everything the three of them had to work through in order to get Opal to really forgive herself and give up her arduous training regimen.**


	13. Rest & Old and New Demons

Rest:

I think I'd forgotten how much I'd missed the idea of sleeping on an actual bed instead of camping bags in the wilderness until we arrived at one of Higanbana's inns earlier. I mean, even though we arrived relatively early in the afternoon, I don't think any of us were surprised when we all wordlessly shifted off to our own rooms and didn't even come out until sunset. Something about sleeping on anything other than the ground for the first time in weeks held more appeal than us staying up and relaxing, I think. Who could've guessed that life traveling across multiple continents with only a vague map to go off would be rough on everyone? In my case, it didn't help that I'd been going the extra mile and a half training myself at night, so that statement might apply a lot more to me than anyone else right about now.

Despite however amazing it was to sleep with Lux in a place with more privacy than our campsites have been able to provide – on a bed, no less – I don't think I'm gonna feel entirely refreshed again until we've reached Mistral. No matter how much more energy I have now that I've had a good few hours of sleep and have picked up meditating with Jaune again, there's always the whole issue with the possibility of Arach and/or the Grimm attacking us when we get moving again that's keeping my rest less reinvigorating than I'd like it to be. Speaking of, Aurora managed to convince me to tell everyone about Arach (thank the gods she's always known about him too) before we all split off again to turn in for the night, which I'm rather thankful for. Come to think of it, letting everyone know that they're potentially in danger might've been something I should've done sooner. Despite my desire to let everyone realize I'm gonna be okay before deciding to drop the bombshell of Arach on them, keeping them in the loop sooner couldn't have done any harm. Not only did telling everyone else remove some of the stress of being the only person aware that Arach might be tracking us, but after RNJR finished asking if we could do anything more than just stay on our guard – which we can't, considering how patient and stealthy he can be – Lux and Tenebris dropped a bombshell of their own on us about Arach's origins.

As it turns out, Arach Nid started out as a legend of a man who forged his band of raiders in Vacuo before moving to Mistral for more profitable targets – and to escape the on-again-off-a myriad of Huntsmen there. I think I can rest a little easier now with the knowledge that the twins have more knowledge of Arach than the rest of the gang in mind. If push comes to shove and my fears about Arach wanting to kill me turn out to be true, at least Lux and Tenebris are aware enough of his reputation and skillset to fight him better than RNJR could. Speaking of, maybe the reason he hasn't taken a chance to attack me is because both RNJR and Iridescence are with me. Skilled and deadly as he may be, maybe Arach's realized that he's too outnumbered to even try and get close, and so he's just biding his time or something to try and find an opportunity. It wouldn't be unlike him to wait for the perfect moment to strike, considering the stories Sanzang and the rest of the elders have told me about him. It's at least a small comfort to think he's too afraid to attack me, and yet another reason I can rest easy for at least tonight.

Beyond the hours we spent talking about my clan's history with Arach, the rest of the evening actually seemed a lot less doom and gloom than what I expected after telling everyone I was being hunted by a dangerous raider. I think a large part of that was because I spotted – or rather, was spotted by – Venus Starr, a close friend of Sanzang from way back when he still wandered Anima, and owner of the very inn we were staying the night at. After he gave me some sympathy about my parents when I told him why I was traveling without them, (man that's never gonna not sting) he was kind enough to offer us all one massive meal for no charge. It was nothing like what Pigsy could cook up or anything, but it was hearty and filled to the brim with flavor, and for a moment I think everyone almost forgot we were on a dangerous mission to Mistral. With everyone laughing and telling stories over a nice meal and all, I could've been content to call things a night right there, but what Lux had to say to me next only made the end of the day even better.

It was so simple, him telling me that he was just happy to see me acting like my normal self again for the first time in far too long, but something about how genuinely he said it made me fall in love with him all over again. What's more, his smile was so bright in that moment I outright to forgot to worry about the future for a while. The only thing that brought me out of the tender moment with her was Tenebris half-teasing us, but I think I was too happy to act on my sudden urge to slap the daylights out of his dumb face. For crying out loud, I was so happy that I didn't even care when I kissed him in front of everyone, and despite the audience, I'd never felt happier to have Lux by my side than right then. For the first time in weeks I can finally say that a day has ended on a high note, that for once, things are looking up despite what's been happening in the rest of the world as we've been on the road, and I wouldn't have it any other way. After spending so long loathing myself in private under the delusion that what I was doing was going to help anyone, I think forgetting the world for one night and enjoying myself was the least I could do. Tenebris also looked more surprised the moment I kissed Aurora than I think I'll ever see him again, which was fun; especially when Aurora started laughing at him and he tried to pretend he wasn't taken aback by seeing the two of us enjoying each other's company.

* * *

Old and New Demons:

At this point I'm wondering if I should interpret good days as a bad omen instead of a blessing. Well, I say that, but today could've gone _far_ worse than it did. We started off our travels as per the usual with nothing out of the ordinary happening until we stumbled across a village I forgot existed – Oniyuri, Mistral's own wonderful rendition of a Mountain Glenn-level disaster of a city. After Aurora, Ren, and I got done explaining how the place was erected by a bunch of dissatisfied nobles to get away from how the Mistral council thought things should be run to everyone that wasn't yet aware of the place, Aurora and I concluded the place had been destroyed by the Grimm. Ren suggested that the place was destroyed by only one Grimm though, which I wasn't too sure about considering how populated Oniyuri was. Even though it didn't matter, I was gonna ask Ren what he was getting at as we were leaving when not only Arach Nid showed up, but a scorpion Faunus by the name of Tyrian Callows as well. Even though Arach admitted to only helping Tyrian get to Ruby – for whatever reason – so that he could act as a distraction to RNJR long enough to get to me, it was still rather disturbing to see the two Faunus staring us down for a handful of heartbeats. Tyrian looked like he thought of him hunting us down as some sort of sick game, and Arach's disturbingly black eyes still somehow conveyed decades of pent-up rage against my clan before he charged.

As much as I hate to say it, I'm thankful Iridescence kept by my side during the fight instead of going to help RNJR. Even if that meant Ruby's Aura was broken and she was one step away from being hurt by Tyrian before Qrow showed up to save the day, I'm sure I would've been overwhelmed by Arach before they could've come to help me. Arach's attack and defense were mixed perfectly, and it was clear that even with my Semblance he could keep up with me no problem, and his experience was going to overpower me. No matter how much my amped-up state helped me dodge and form powerful attacks, he was always five steps ahead, like he'd been thinking about this moment the entire time he was tracking us and knew everything we were going to do before we did it. In fact, if it wasn't for Tenebris diving in and having his Aura destroyed by taking a hit for me, I can almost guarantee I'd be missing a head right about now. After Tenebris was sent flying, instead of Arach taking the moment to finish me, he gloated and threatened to kill the rest of my team before me if I didn't stand up and die like a man. Of course, I wasn't about to let him get anywhere near my loved ones, and I obliged.

I decided then and there I was going to get payback on him for hurting Tenebris, and I wasn't going to let him push me back any longer, even if that meant I was always a hair's breath away from being gutted by his double-sided spear. At that point he became sloppy, frustrated at how my silhouettes either took hits for me or managed to jab at him in my stead, and that sloppiness gave me all the information I needed to see the brief holes in his defense. I didn't waste a moment. I managed to channel my spirit fire into a punch that sent him stumbling back just long enough for Aurora to fling him into the air, where Lux froze his arms with a Dust shot, and I blew away his Aura with an explosive arrow enhanced by my Semblance. I'd hoped that would've been enough to tell him he'd been beaten, that he'd just run away instead of letting his obsession with my clan control him, but I was wrong. With Tenebris beaten and Aurora and Lux too fatigued to do anything more, Arach broke free of the ice and charged me despite my warnings that nothing good could come of his continued obsession. Despite his eyes being a soulless pitch black, I could've sworn I saw something snap in him as he ran towards me. His previous composed style was gone, his movements came across as painfully forced, and it wasn't long before I was forced to strike him down for good. He was too unhinged to dodge my flame-enhanced slash with Emerald aimed at his chest, and it was over as soon as the second round of our duel had begun.

By the time we helped Tenebris limp over to where RNJR was fighting Tyrian, the other Faunus was gone. Ruby told us she cut off his stinger after he grazed Qrow and he ran away, but other than that everyone was unharmed, and Jaune was the first to ask if Arach Nid was still around. Despite the fact I was left with no choice and the fact he'd badly injured Tenebris, it still stung to have to tell everyone I killed a man. Even one so filled with unfathomably deep hatred left to fester for decades as Arach. I was able to convince everyone that wasn't there to witness the end of the fight not to look over where Arach made his last offense, so at least RNJR was spared having to look at a dead man before we left.

Since then we've made camp a ways out from Oniyuri, and Qrow's being bandaged up by Ren and Jaune while Lux is treating Tenebris' heavy bruises. His Aura might've tanked most of the hit, but his armor is what really saved his life, and I'm just thankful he didn't get hurt any more badly than he did. Tenebris hasn't even let the injuries stop him from joking around either, saying the bruises "are nothing compared to what even a kid back inVacuo could bring to a fight." Aurora's relaxing now after telling me I did what I had to do and nothing more, and even though she's right, a part of me regrets having to kill Arach. He was a demented and warped individual, sure, but I don't think anyone deserves to die when there's a perfectly good chance to leave a fight alive, no matter how deep your hatred of a person runs. I imagine that in a few days I'll be over the whole matter of my clan's past coming back to bite me, but I think I'm going to make a concerted effort to try and focus on the matter at hand. That being the fact that once Qrow's done being bandaged up, he's gonna have a lot of questions to answer about what exactly had been going on around here for him to have appeared with such perfect timing.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Another Journey to the West reference! The gold star of Venus is a character/deity/heavenly being (look I'm not good at mythology beyond the basics, okay?) that repeatedly helped Tripitaka/Sanzang on his journey. Can ya tell I'm having a lot of fun referencing Journey to the West in this? Because I am. Also, don't think about the mention of Opal and Lux sleeping together too hard. I literally only meant it as in "sleeping in the same bed together" but I couldn't find a way to make it sound less innuendo-y.**

 **And thus ends the blight of Arach Nid on the Malachite Clan's history. He started out as a reason for Qrow to still have a reason to be grazed despite the fact Iridescence's presence would've made the Tyrian fight a 9v1 but grew into so much more. If you're wondering how I imagine him looking like, think Ozai in his scruffy-looking comic appearance mixed with a bit of roguishness and a sprinkling of Azula's madness for good measure, then give him bottomless and soulless black eyes and you've got Arach Nid. A disturbing and deranged madman of an ex-raider with a death warrant for anyone even tangentially related to the Malachite Clan. A part of me regrets killing him off, but another realizes someone who spends 20+ years focusing on the chance to murder someone who's part of the clan he hates isn't going to take the offer to walk away alive from the same person he's trying to mentally torture and subsequently murder.**


	14. A Much-Needed Talk & A Journey's End

A Much-Needed Talk:

With what Qrow had to say, I think it's only reasonable for me to record the absolute truckload of information he offloaded on us before I turn in – and man did he have a lot to inform us about.

To start, he clarified that the 'fairy tale' about the Wizard and the Four Maidens was in fact true, and that Cinder was the first person in history to usurp the power of one; specifically, the Fall Maiden's. Somehow the idea of magic and Maidens wasn't too hard for me to digest, though I imagine that has more to do with the fact that I've witnessed the power of a Maiden firsthand in battle than anything. Of course, with that bombshell being dropped, Jaune jumped at the opportunity to understand why Pyrrha was supposedly pressured into becoming the previous Fall Maiden's successor back at Beacon. Qrow said that she was given the choice some time during the Vytal Tournament and all, but something about how underhanded the whole thing had been rubbed me the wrong way. I understand it was to try and keep the Fall Maiden's location secret from Cinder, but why not let Pyrrha tell us what decision she was going to have to make so we could help her decide? It doesn't make sense to me no matter how hard I think about it, but at least Pyrrha's still alive and capable of going about her life nowadays without Ozpin and Qrow giving her an offer they know she probably wouldn't refuse.

As if news of Maidens and Pyrrha nearly becoming one wasn't enough for us to wrap our heads around, Qrow told us that the tales of the two god brothers are very likely true as well. How the older brother created life, how his younger brother created the Grimm to destroy it all, how the two of them created humanity as a last act of cooperation between them, all of it. What's more, not only did they bestow upon humanity the potential for knowledge, choice, creation, and destruction, but those four traits were given physical forms in the form of four Relics that were given to the Huntsman Academies for safe keeping. If Tyrian and Cinder's master Salem were to possess all those relics, she could possibly change the world to whatever form her heart desired, which was fun to hear about late into the night after one of her cronies nearly _kidnapped_ Ruby.

With that in mind, Lux and Tenebris were the first to chime in about the Relics' safety. They proposed that, given Vacuo's big-time respect culture, their home's Relic is probably the safest of them all. Since the two of them know far better than me about how a kingdom of thieves and scoundrels attempting to make a living would act concerning a Relic's safety, I'm inclined to agree with the sentiment. At least if it comes down to it, we'll have two natives of Vacuo to guide us through the place to keep it safe ourselves, but time will tell if we even need to go there. Not only did the twins have something to say concerning a Relic, but Aurora was quick to mention that we've been provided yet another reason to make sure we get to Mistral as soon as possible. Given that every Academy possesses a Relic and Qrow's told us Haven's likely the next place that'll be attacked, we're now in a sort of race against the clock to make sure Salem can't access Haven's Relic. Professor Lionheart may be quite the capable fighter surrounded by dozens of trained Huntsmen, but that doesn't mean me and Aurora aren't extra antsy now to see our journey through to its conclusion. Not only will we be able to assure our clans that we're still alive – and I be able to take charge of my clan, but that's another matter entirely – but we'll be able to play a personal hand in protecting our home from Salem's assault. Of course, it does help that our respective family names will buy us a little comfort while we're there, which is yet _another_ reason I look forward to getting back to our ancestral homes. We'll be able to rest easy for once, which I think will do wonders for everyone's battle-readiness after sleeping on the ground for these past few weeks.

After that lovely part of our conversation had ended, I was the first to pose the question as to why Qrow was following us in secret all this time, though I'm not sure if I'd pried too deep with the distant way he answered me as he stared into the fire. He explained that his Semblance is to bring misfortune at seemingly random times upon those he's close to, and that he tried to distance himself from us so that we wouldn't be put in any danger. I can't help but feel like there's a comparison to be made between me keeping Arach Nid's hunting us secret a while back and Qrow keeping Salem and her plans secret, but I don't think I'm gonna voice it. Qrow's got a wound to nurse over and he's already sulked out of camp to go keep watch while we turn in, and I'm not gonna drag him back over here just to berate him on past mistakes – not when I've fallen into those same pitfalls in the past. Speaking of his wound, I sincerely hope that Tyrian's now-severed stinger isn't as poisonous as his animal counterpart's, otherwise when we wake up in the morning we're going to have a big problem ahead of us. Given that it's just a graze though, I'm holding out hope that Tyrian didn't get a chance to inject any venom into Qrow's cut; though given his Semblance, a part of me wonders if I should reverse-psychology his misfortune and hope to the contrary. Probably not. It'd be nice if that was how his Semblance worked though.

* * *

A Journey's End:

First thing's first to note concerning my earlier hopes about Qrow's Semblance – no, it does _not_ work to try and reverse-psychology it into making venom not do anything once it's in someone's body. It couldn't have been more than five minutes after we all woke up that we saw Qrow's wound oozing liquid even more purple than some of Tenebris' bruises he got yesterday. With none of us lucky enough to have some miraculous healing powers, it wasn't long before we had to take turns between carrying Qrow on a stretcher and assuring Ruby we'd get him some help.

We eventually made it to a fork in the road and had to split up. One path lead to the long-since-destroyed town of Kuroyuri, and another a mountain trail none of us even thought we could carry Qrow up without exacerbating his wound. Ren surprised us all when he nearly snapped at the suggestion we all go to Kuroyuri together to look for meds, but none of us had the heart to pry as to why exactly he was so against going there. He and Nora went up the mountain trail to try and scout out help, and the rest of us went to Kuroyuri to search for any kind of medication for Qrow as quickly as possible. Even though eight pairs of hands would've been better than just six to sift through the ruins, I'm glad the two of them left on their own to scout things out. There was nothing in Kuroyuri for Qrow, and right as we were about to end our search, the two of them came running to warn us about an incoming Grimm – the same one that'd destroyed Kuroyuri, and very likely the same one that destroyed Oniyuri.

I dread to think how many people died to that Nuckelavee over the years it was so disturbing-looking. Like the arrow and spine-riddled torso of a man with elastic arms long enough normally to reach the ground fused with a demonic bastardization of a horse, coupled with a scream that could break glass, was like staring down Arach, only somehow even worse. After Tenebris helped Qrow limp out of the way of the Grimm, one nightmare of a battle broke loose. No matter how fast I was, no matter how many shots it took from Lux or me, the thing looked like it was more only mildly annoyed by its wounds than anything. Granted, I was more only pelting it with normal arrows rather than the high-impact arrows my Semblance could turn the arrows into, but still. Also, seeing as whoever got within melee range of the thing got slammed into the ground, I wasn't about to push my own luck just to try and land a flame-enhanced strike with Emerald on it when it was clear all we had to do was strategize to take the Grimm down. Speaking of strategy, it certainly didn't help that Ren went berserk during the fight – which from what I gather has something to do with his lack of parents, but I of all people know when not to pry about someone's past when it comes to lost family – and would've gotten himself killed if Aurora didn't fling Nora in for the save.

Once Nora finally slapped some sense into Ren after they took a moment to get into cover and calm down, that's when the tide of the battle finally started to turn. Jaune and I figured out the best course of action would be for us to split up and pin down the Nuckelavee's arms and kill the horse part of the Grimm's body so Ren could go in for the finishing blows. It was a sound strategy, but it still took two of us each to get each job done. Lux blew Nora into the air with his Semblance and charged her up before the two of them crushed the Grimm's head, Aurora and I used our speed to mess with the beast long enough to stab one of its arms down, which let Jaune and Ruby pin down its other arm while it was still reeling. After Lux used some Ice Dust rounds to make sure the Nuckelavee wasn't going anywhere, Ren ended the thing's reign of terror on Anima. Not only did he visibly display no small amount of catharsis in the act of what I think was him avenging his parents, but he did it with enough newfound composure that Lux admitted after the fact that even Port would've been impressed, to which I think both of us could agree. If nothing else, it was nice to have some peace and quiet after the Grimm finally stopped screaming at us.

As if all of us coming out unharmed wasn't enough, by the time we made it back to Tenebris and Qrow, some Mistral patrol ships noticed the smoke plume of the dead Grimm and our journey came to an abrupt – but nonetheless extremely lucky – end. Since then, I've been more than happy to say that nothing terrible has happened. To start, I convinced the medical personnel we encountered upon landing to let Qrow rest with everyone in my ancestral home once they were done with him. I figured it was the least I could do to open my clan's doors to my friends instead of them having to rent some random house for the time being. That, and after I was done assuring Sanzang and the rest of the clan that I'm as fine as I can be, since I'm the blood leader of the clan now, it's not like I was under any obligation to ask permission to let them stay under the Malachite Clan's roof.

After we noticed RNJR going off to explore my home while Lux checked up on Tenebris, it wasn't long before Aurora and I excused ourselves to go tell her parents she was okay, and man did they look relieved. Despite the fact the Liumang Cartel is history nowadays, they looked like they'd been through a nightmare and a half wondering about the fate of their daughter these past few months. After they were done fretting over us and finished offering me sympathy for my parents' deaths, they told me that I'd always have a place under their roof, should I ever need somewhere to stay. While I'm fairly sure I'll always have a home with the Malachite Clan first and foremost, it was still rather heartwarming to see Aurora's parents being as kind and caring as I'd always known them to be.

After a few hours and Aurora's reunion with her parents was coming to an end, her parents finally let us head back to my place, and we finally got to spend some time properly relaxing with the twins for the first time since we hit Higanbana. Tenebris' bruises seem to have nearly made a full recovery too, thanks to some meds and ointments Sanzang was kind enough to provide from his garden, which only made things feel a lot calmer than when anytime we were on the road. Even though it was evening and we should've probably gotten around to cooking dinner before anything else, Lux and Aurora shocked me by asking to see what exactly I'd learned about my Semblance since its potential had been unlocked. While Tenebris wandered off to start preparing a meal that consisted of something other than the nonperishables we'd been carrying with us on our journey, the rest of us went off to spar. Even though I'd yet to even let myself sit down to really rest, the moment we drew our weapons and started sparring like we were back at Beacon, I swear I felt more refreshed and alive than any amount of sleep could make me feel just then. If nothing else, it helped me take my mind off the imminent need to prepare a speech about how I'm now the primary leader of the clan and what that means, as well as about my parents' deaths in general. It's inevitable I suppose, that I have to give the details to the rest of the clan and its closest friends of what exactly happened back in Vale, and what I plan to do with the clan now that I'm in charge, but for now I think I'm gonna let myself enjoy the fact we've arrived safe and sound in Mistral. It'll be nice, sleeping with some privacy again with Lux – the fact we'll be in my own bed instead of some random inn's is just icing on the cake, really. Overall, things are finally starting to look a lot less grim, and forthat I am eternally grateful.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **A part of me really hopes that Vacuo is way down the line when it comes to RWBY's life cycle, and that my statement about it being well-guarded proves to be true. The WoR shorts seem to support the idea that Vacuo's culture comprising of a lot of criminals makes its Relic rather secure, but I think me keeping the details as to why vague is the best thing I could do to avoid possible continuity errors.**

 **Also, is it just me or was the Nuckelavee really,** _ **genuinely**_ **disturbing? Like, something about its mythological origins and Grimm influence on its design just gave me the heebie-jeebies when I first saw its stuttered and jagged movements. Regardless, I'm really happy with finally being able to divulge how Aurora's parents have been in light of Beacon's fall and how they feel about Opal in general, and even more happy that I'm gonna be able to have Opal take on the role she was born for in her clan really soon.**

 **Oh, and I decided to have the gang reside in the Malachite Clan's ancestral home because;  
A. Opal straight-up owns the place as heiress to the clan.  
B. It's a good set piece for what I have planned next for Opal's personal journey concerning her parents' untimely deaths.  
And C. I always had something of an issue with how RNJR found a place to stay in Mistral without any explanation. Did Qrow own the place? Is it a Huntsmen safehouse? I don't think it's ever explained, and having them chill at Opal's place served as a better explanation as to why they all have a roof over their heads in my eyes.**


	15. New Beginnings & Ozpin

New Beginnings:

Despite everything that'd happened and the imminent speech I was still brainstorming in my head, so it wouldn't come across as stilted, when me and Aurora started our morning sparring in the courtyard with Sandy throwing us pointers, it felt like I was whisked back to a time when the world made sense. We weren't by any means going all out or anything, it was more like the old days when we could hang out and hold a conversation about some play or new song while practicing our katas, which was nice. Eventually, even Qrow got involved when he dragged himself out of bed, giving me some tips about staying on my toes in terms of strategy – beyond the fast-thinking tactics my Semblance helps me perform, anyway. It was only then that I realized how much of a boon and a curse a constantly active Semblance like his must be like. While we were half-heartedly trading blows so we wouldn't wake anyone up that wasn't already there, I could've sworn some stones cropped up out of the courtyard that were never there before. Either that, or Sanzang and my parents did some redecorating while I was away, which I find unlikely considering the courtyard has been left in the same state it was found in when this place was built. Whatever the case, luck wasn't on my side, and it didn't take a genius to figure out how much of a danger that could be if it were to crop up in a fight your loved ones are with you in. Regardless, the good vibes of the morning didn't deceive me for once when it came to how the rest of the day would go, which I'm rather thankful for.

Of course, eventually the rest of the inner council had to eventually come along and break me out of my reverie with the news my speech to the clan was coming up. With Iridescence and the rest of the gang finally awake enough to attend, there wasn't exactly any more putting it off, and I quickly prepared myself for clan history to be made. Tenebris joked that my first order of business would be to turn my ancestral home into a new academy, and the funny thing was, he was halfway right about the nature of the changes I had planned for the clan. I told him as much, but before anyone (other than Aurora and Lux, who I'd already told my plans) could ask me for details, I was on my way out the door, with Sanzang and the inner council herding the gang into the meeting room with the rest of the clan.

I surprised myself with how composed I was when it came to the speech. I've never been the kind of person to become a nervous wreck where public speaking is concerned, but part of me expected to choke up when it came to explaining what happened to my parents. Thanks to everyone present already being aware of the battle at Beacon, and a supportive set of smiles in the audience from the gang, I was able to divulge the fundamentals without too much trouble. I should've expected the resulting shock and mournful atmosphere that resulted in the audience when I did so, given how important my parents were to the clan, but another realized that their reaction was just the healthy way to start grieving – a few weeks ago, I could've learned a thing or two from how they handled the news. With that Goliath in the room out of the way, I think I was able to really change the atmosphere for the better with what I had to say about how things are going to be moving forward.

Seeing as I wasn't about to let the Malachite Clan sit idly by as the world falls into disarray, and that a large portion of the clan already has some familiarity with weapons thanks to our number of craftsmen, I reclassified the clan from an artisan clan to one of Huntsmen right then and there. Although I assured everyone that I wasn't about to discourage the continuation of artistic pursuits in the clan, I did make a point to clarify that we couldn't just stand aside and watch the world burn when we're all able-bodied enough to contribute, even in some small way. Though I knew the clan has enough like-minded individuals to myself in regard to Huntsmen to make the change in direction smooth, I was surprised to see just how eagerly accepting so many members of the clan were to contribute to a higher calling. I suppose it only made sense though, what with the rise in Grimm attacks and how many people in the clan had more than a few friends in Vale affected by the fall of Beacon. Now it seems that when the world needs help and things look desperate, there'll at least be one more clan in Mistral ready to help protect the people – either through direct action or by providing the people the means to defend themselves.

After the audience dispersed to go spread the news and start preparing contributions to the training of new Huntsmen, I was unsurprised to see Sanzang, Pigsy, and Sandy waiting to talk to me. Among other things that I'd declined to tell them when we got here, they didn't even know about Arach Nid attacking me until I told the entire clan during my speech. It was both flattering and awkward to see how they reacted to the news about his death, really. All three of them affirmed that they would be more than willing to pass on everything they know about combat to the possible future Huntsmen of the clan, no surprises there. What was weird though was the fact they – the three living legends of the Malachite Clan – borderline showered me with praise about me taking down a foe they'd failed to track down for decades, all right in front of my friends as they walked through the door to catch up with me. After the three of them left, I had to spend the next few hours convincing some of them to stop calling me "big-shot" or "glorious leader," all while fighting my desire to slap the ever-loving crap out of them for being so damned facetious. At any rate, Lux seemed to get a good laugh out of watching me squirm due to people other than him teasing me, so it wasn't all bad.

Once I finally 'convinced' Qrow with some aged whiskey from the family cellar to stop taunting me, we headed out to tour Mistral before heading to Haven Academy. Beyond Nora and Tenebris continuing to try and get on my nerves from time to time, it was pleasant, being a sort of guide for my friends in a place they'd never been but me and Aurora could navigate like the back of our hands. After a brief pit stop at the Jasmine Dragon for some lunch and tea, we made it to Haven Academy. Classes are out of session on account of the Grimm, so it was rather barren, but I enjoyed the quiet that the awe some of the gang had been struck by for the place granted me. Unfortunately, that also meant the Vault of the Spring Maiden was left unguarded by anyone other than Professor Lionheart, which left Qrow in a lousy mood. Not only that, but due to the lack of hands on deck, we aren't even able to go after the Spring Maiden (who Qrow's convinced is with his sister, if I understand things right) to make sure she's safe from Salem. I don't know what I expected to come of our visit to Haven, but I expected to get _something_ productive done today regarding the Relics.

Anyway, while Qrow sulked off to gods-know-where for a drink and we had nothing better to do, Pigsy was kind enough to treat us to his cooking. It was a simple (by Pigsy's standards) meal of cha siu and mixed vegetable dumplings on a bed of rice, but since it was the first complete meal everyone except for me and Aurora had ever had from him, it might as well have been Pigsy's finest culinary masterpiece. I could practically see the stars in everyone's eyes when Pigsy's cooking hit their taste buds for the first time. A long time ago I wrote down how I thought Tenebris would never let Pigsy go if he ever tasted the Faunus' cooking – I was half-right. Although Pigsy didn't need to fetch his rake or Sandy to pry Tenebris off him, I think right about now Tenebris is spending his evening learning so much from Pigsy about cooking that you might as well call him the apprentice of our master chef. Not that I have a problem with Tenebris becoming an even better cook than he already is; by all means, if that's what he wants to do, more power to him. That, and with Aurora hovering around them on standby to help them clean whatever messes they manage to make, Lux and I have all the time in the world to either relax by ourselves _or_ act as Tenebris' personal taste testers – which are both shaping up to be pretty fun ways to pass the time.

* * *

Ozpin:

Now that my head's running a mile a minute to comprehend everything that's happened in the last hour or two, I'm seriously regretting not turning in before Qrow got back. Not only did Qrow get mistaken for a hooligan by Sandy and some of our guardsmen because of how drunk he was when he reached our doorstep, but he brought a 14-year-old kid back with him. As if Qrow staggering home with a seemingly random kid in tow wasn't weird enough, we were told by the kid – Oscar – that _Ozpin is in his head._ At that point, I was willing to accept the idea that I'd accidentally been poisoned, and I was in some twisted form of purgatory, but when Oscar "relinquished control" of his body and he became as composed and eloquent as our old Headmaster, there was no denying that Oscar was telling the truth.

After he extended some sympathy to us all about what we'd been through, Ozpin told us how – and why – he's able to reincarnate; and somehow, it was somewhat easier to digest than the whole "Maidens are real" thing Qrow told us about. He told us that he's cursed, doomed to reincarnate and merge souls with a like-minded individual over and over again as punishment for his inability to stop Salem in the past. What's more, he informed us that whenever he did need to reincarnate, he would always have a circle of lieutenants to rely on while he's in the middle of the process. Lionheart is – or was – one of them, and Ozpin said that what he's been doing acts explicitly against the orders he left for him. Ozpin then decided to train us these next few weeks while Qrow goes about looking for some Huntsmen he can recruit to help us retrieve the Spring Maiden from the Branwen Tribe. Aside from the whole set of mental gymnastics we all were just put through, and the fact Qrow broke my parents' antique coffee table (thanks misfortune Semblance), it's a sound plan in my eyes.

Ozpin's points of critique for all of us were right, too. For Team RNJR, he pointed out how Ruby's terrible at combat without Crescent Rose, Jaune's still not discovered his Semblance, Ren needs work on his ability to fight foes other than Grimm, and Nora needs to exercise some more self-control when it comes to her fighting style. His critiques for my team were just as reasonable, too; Tenebris lacks defense beyond his armor and Semblance's durability, Lux is also terrible at close combat even _with_ his bayonet, Aurora needs to better weaponize her cables, and my swordplay still has room for improvement despite my Semblance helping me in combat.

I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but I know he's right about me at least. In a fight, if a few tactically timed/placed swift strikes aren't enough to finish off an adversary, I've had to fall back on my ascended state to win in a prolonged fight. Seeing as it tires me out over time though, that shouldn't have to be my answer to any prolonged battle. Now I just need to start brainstorming on how exactly I want to improve upon my swordplay. With how extensive our clan's library is, I'm sure I can find a scroll or two that'll point me in the right direction while still being applicable to my fighting style. Who knows, maybe Sandy will help find some of those useful scrolls and train us himself so that Ozpin doesn't have to juggle all eight of us at once. It'll be like old times between me and Aurora again, only with two more amazing people present and our training being a lot more important now than it ever was before we went to Beacon. Not only that, but I'd take pointers from the inner council any day of the week over Ozpin instructing me in a 14-year-old's body. Even if that means the inner council's gonna be somewhat hovering over me like they did when I first decided I wanted to become a Huntress, at least I'll have my team around to help me decompress.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Man, it felt good to finally have Opal take the reigns of her clan! Something about the image of Opal delivering a speech that's gonna go down in her clan's history as a pivotal moment just got me really stoked to write this chapter, even so far back as when I was still planning out Volume 3's impact on her life. Not only was I excited to write that, but I was also rather fond of the whole idea of Pigsy blowing everyone away with his cooking, since food seems to be god-tier when it comes to making people happy in RWBY. What's more, I was rather happy to finally make another Journey to the West reference in the form of Pigsy's weapon.**

 **Oh, and you've gotta wonder – how weird must it have been to see a kid like Oscar waltz up to your door, only to say they're actually your millennia-old Headmaster reincarnated? It'd be like seeing Aang from ATLA, only with the Avatar being Wan reincarnated in a new body over and over again, and not a nice "hey we're your spiritual predecessors, we're here to guide you," kind of deal. Speaking of ATLA, didja spot the reference? I think the one in this chapter is about as subtle as I'm gonna get.**


	16. Respect Your Elders & Unexpected Reunion

Respect Your Elders:

It's funny how quickly a few days of training can blur into weeks, despite the overbearing reason of _why_ we're training hovering over everyone's heads every time we look in Oscar's general direction. Not that that's a bad thing – its always good to have a reminder as to what you're fighting for and why, even if that reminder has to take the form of a millennia-old mentor inhabiting a kid's body. I pray to the gods Ozpin has no other surprises in store for us. Not that I wouldn't be able to handle it, but I've much preferred these few weeks of companionable training over life-changing secrets being unveiled to us every other week.

Speaking of training, despite us only having limited time to make the most of Ozpin's and the inner council's tutelage, I think I can say with certainty we've all grown leaps and bounds. We aren't by any means done growing stronger, nor have any of us really perfected our newfound techniques, but Mistral wasn't built in a day. The only 'surprise' – if you could call it that – was seeing Ozpin controlling Oscar's body and training RNJR with all the skill and grace of someone possessing a body far older than Oscar's. I know Ozpin told us that Oscar would gain his old muscle memory in time and all, but something about seeing someone several years younger than me fighting with the same authoritative air as Qrow or Sandy made me feel ever so slightly uneasy when I saw it at first. At least it was RNJR being trained by Ozpin and not Iridescence, so I didn't exactly have to spend most days dealing with that feeling.

The inner council, as I anticipated, took to training my team a lot more than they did give helpful tips to RNJR. It started out slow, figuring out which inner council member could work best with who in my team in terms of teaching, but things started moving quickly after that. Sanzang's been teaching Lux some Baguazhang-style martial arts, and I almost couldn't believe Lux would be so apt at picking it up. Lux has always been a sort of "make sure every shot counts" sort of guy on the battlefield since Wiz uses a bolt-action reload, but he very quickly sponged up Sanzang's teachings. Not only that, but he's started to blend the forms he's been taught by him – and Aurora, but I get ahead of myself – into his Semblance, and I imagine that in due time he's going to be bending the air to his will with more fluidity than ever. Of course, it does help that Sanzang's one of the most patient men I've ever met, and that the fighting style will help Lux out in melee fights his bayonet or Wiz's new mode can't solve, but the prodigious way he's been picking up Sanzang's (and Aurora's) teachings I thought was worthy of note. That, and the fact Lux came to me after his first day of training all tuckered out just to tell me how much more he's impressed by me and my talents now that he's training in martial arts himself – which was both cute and flattering at the same time.

While Lux was completely occupied learning Baguazhang from one member of the inner council in the first few days of our training, Tenebris roped the remaining two into teaching him. Sandy and Pigsy combined taught Tenebris a bit of boxing to make up for his lack of defense, which – thanks to his brawling days – Tenebris made a game out of during training. Sandy and Pigsy's experience usually made them come out on top when their sparring matches started out, but eventually, Tenebris' Semblance and improvements in terms of skill outclassed Pigsy entirely. It was probably for the best too, since Sandy's experience with a kanabo allowed him to provide more general fighting tips concerning Tenebris' way of wielding Boomstick than Pigsy ever could with his rake. When he wasn't learning from Sandy how to fight, he was with Pigsy sponging up more cooking lessons than I'd ever imagined he'd be willing to listen to for hours on end. A long time ago, I made a hobby of learning how to cook from Pigsy too, but Tenebris has just taken it to a whole new level. While he was never exactly the smartest of our team when it came to strategy, he's learned so much about cooking that if you put him in front of even a basic fire pit on a camping trip, he'd probably be able to blow you away with what he could create. Lux may be the brains of the two of them when it comes to the battlefield, but it seems Tenebris is leagues ahead of his brother when it comes to cooking. Who could've guessed that the brute of a Huntsman-in-training that came out of Vacuo so many months ago would have a potential career as a chef?

Anyway, with the twins occupied with the inner council, Ozpin busy with RNJR, and Qrow out in the city most of the time, Aurora and I were left to train by ourselves. Considering our friendship started out doing that sort of thing, the past few weeks have been a sort of return to form for us. Looking back and comparing her training to my own thus far, Aurora's training was definitely the less arduous of ours, I think. It consisted mostly of us meditating and discussing how we used our Semblances and coming up with ways to better utilize them. In her case, we had to come up with some ideas about her using her cables for uses other than grappling or mobility, but for me, we had to figure out a whole new style of swordplay I could incorporate into my fighting style. Aurora ended up hitting a breakthrough in her training first when Tenebris showed her some of the quick jabs he'd been learning how to perform, and Aurora tried to copy it using her Semblance rather than her hands. By mixing Tenebris' form in with her Semblance, she effectively turned her cables into metal rods that – given enough force, focus, and precision – could jab straight through even an entire tree trunk if enough effort was put into it. Of course, it takes a lot out of her to punch through strong materials like that, but in the middle of a fight against Salem and her cronies, even a quick jab that could catch your opponent off guard could mean the difference between life and death. In some of our more recent one-on-ones, her cables have moved so quick that even I have trouble keeping up with them without using my ascended state. Not only do they move as fast as a death adder sometimes, but the amount of force that they're coming at you with can be so deceptive in of itself that it's like you're fighting her cables just as much as you are her.

As for my own training, I think I spent the first week just rummaging through the family library's combat scrolls and testing the waters of whatever sword fighting styles I found to see what I could find to complement my fighting style. I eventually found a few scrolls detailing some iaijutsu techniques I could see myself using, and so I occupied myself figuring out how to incorporate quick-draw sword strikes into my preexisting form. While I wasn't successful in merely adding a few new techniques into my current fighting style, I did end up coming up with a new style entirely. Thanks to how I'd been training to minimize the drain my ascended state puts on me at the same time I was studying the fundamentals of iaijutsu as well as the nature of my spiritual flames, I eventually realized how I could blend my Semblance and my newfound iaijutsu techniques into one. Using my spiritual flames to empower my martial arts only utilizes a fraction of the flames' power, so I came up with a style that almost entirely revolves around hand-to-hand combat and evasive maneuvers that could buy me time to locate a critical weak spot in my opponent's form. Once I do find that weak spot, I can then channel the remainder of my flames' strength into a surgical, and devastating, swift strike enabled by iaijutsu. Granted, I've only begun to grasp the potential of this new style of combat, and against a more experienced opponent than myself I would more likely have to fall back to my old style of combat, but at least now I have one more way to take down my enemies. Besides, seeing as iaijutsu compliments my swordplay regardless of whether I come up with a new fighting style or not, I've still technically ended up following through on Ozpin's advice for how I should be training myself.

Aside from all the physical training we've been putting ourselves through, none of us have exactly been twiddling our thumbs regarding other aspects of ourselves in combat, either. For instance, Lux and I – instead of spending our time looking for some privacy or just hanging around like usual when we're able to relax together – actually made some breakthroughs in terms of upgrading his and Tenebris' gear. Before we got around to that though, I decided to treat him to a brief trip to the market to get him a new coat, since his old frock coat is just about falling apart at the seams (and he feels he's outgrown the need to emulate Port, but I don't think he was gonna admit _that_ out loud). I only ended up needing to get him a spiffy-looking black coat with some gold trimming that was actually durable enough to _withstand_ combat – unlike his old modified uniform – and a new belt to hold some of his Dust rounds, but even such a small change in gear for him really did help show how far he's come. Or I just let the novelty of his new clothes and his heartfelt thanking me infect how I viewed the purchase. Either way, I'm happy with how that small trip turned out.

Regardless, when we got back home, it was time to get to work – and work we did. Within about a week, we'd just about overhauled the entire functionality of Wiz and given Boomstick an incredibly useful upgrade. For obvious reasons, Lux was more occupied working on his weapon while I was dealing with the intricacies of upgrading Tenebris', but he still ended up making the most out of some old specs of Dad's I showed to him. Thanks to those specs, instead of him having to rely exclusively on his bayonet or his martial arts in melee combat, Wiz now has the secondary mode of a good old-fashioned quarterstaff without sacrificing _any_ firepower to install the key mode-switching components. What's more, I daresay that a quarterstaff is a better melee weapon than even his musket mode's bayonet, which is always good, in case something gets past his Semblance and he's possibly facing something – or _someone_ – that'd make fighting with his bare hands... risky, at best. Regardless, once Lux finished up his overhaul and started training with Aurora in the art of staff combat (something he also seems to have a gift for – lucky him), I made some mods to Tenebris' weapon and armor that could wind up finally making his combat style ever-so-slightly less self-endangering. Now instead of having to chase after Boomstick every time he throws it at someone in its thruster mode in combat, Tenebris can call the thing back magnetically. Combine that functionality with the potential for staggering an opponent and following up with a literal explosive uppercut, and you have a simple upgrade that could make a world of a difference when we get back out into the field.

Anyways, since Qrow told us to give ourselves a break for tonight because of how convinced he is _tonight's_ the night he's finally gonna bring back some more Huntsmen, I've finally scrounged up enough alone time to write in my journal again. Tenebris and Pigsy are preparing dinner and Ruby's making tea, so even if Qrow doesn't come back with any new allies, we'll at least have a good dinner to look forward to. All that's left is making sure that Nora doesn't end up eating all the food before Qrow gets back, which is easier said than done.

* * *

An Unexpected Reunion:

Out of _all_ the people I'd imagined Qrow would bring through the door when he got back, the last three people I expected to see him bring home was Pyrrha, Weiss, and Yang. At first, I thought Ruby was being attacked because she suddenly went dead silent and there was a crash of some dinnerware, but once everyone heard Ruby hurriedly apologizing about leaving Patch we all knew it must've been Yang that Qrow brought home. It really was heart-warming to see the two sisters – and even Weiss – reunite, and despite that brief pang of grief I felt watching the family reunion, once Lux came and took my hand into his and Aurora and Tenebris came and placed theirs on my back, I was reminded _yet again_ that my family is so much more than it was a long time ago. While three-quarters of RWBY were hugging it out, the moment I heard Jaune's footfalls I knew exactly where he was going. He rushed right into Pyrrha's arms, and I don't think I'd ever seen Jaune so close to happy tears in my life until he ran over to embrace his girlfriend. Come to think of it, I wonder if that's how Lux and I look to everyone else, minus the whole 'permanently damaged ankle' thing and all.

I was about to suggest we all go finish preparing dinner and catch up there when Yang saw Ozpin (or at least it was when he started talking) and told everyone she had some news for us about him. I called it right before they even started speaking that they had another bombshell to drop on us about Ozpin and Salem's personal war, but I could've never predicted what _exactly_ they had to say. They told us that Ozpin gave Qrow and Raven the ability to turn into birds during their time at Beacon, so that they could act as his personal information gatherers concerning Salem's movements. We didn't exactly ask for a demonstration, but with how Qrow defended Ozpin from Yang's frustration at all the secrets, we knew that Pyrrha and her were telling the truth. Ozpin then confessed that, in addition to the tale of the Maidens being true, that he was the wizard in the story, and that he still possesses some degree of magical power himself – however dwindling it may be. After Yang made sure that Ozpin wouldn't be keeping any more secrets from us if we were to continue helping him (something I can get behind, considering our lives are on the line in this fight), we finally got back around to dinner. Pigsy was kind enough to have monitored everything in our absence, and had enough of a mind to let us enjoy the rest of our night catching up, taking his own plate who knows where with him.

After Pyrrha and Weiss got over how good the food was, and Yang finished beating Tenebris and Nora in an arm-wrestling competition she cheated both times with her prosthetic arm in to win, we finally got around to hearing what they'd been up to these past few months. While it wasn't a surprise to hear that Pyrrha had helped Yang on the road to being willing to fight again, it was more than a little amusing to hear how even without her ankle being in tip-top shape Pyrrha was able to win more often than not when the two of them sparred. Pyrrha will likely never be the fighter she once was again, but I think everyone's ready to see her fight alongside us after so long. Even Jaune seems more than a little excited at the prospect of getting payback for what Cinder did to Pyrrha and I, and the fact he'll be able to literally and figuratively flex his muscles and show off his own improvements to his girlfriend I imagine certainly influenced his attitude.

Weiss shocked us all when she told us about how her father more-or-less disavowed her, but she didn't seem as torn up over that life-changing event as much as she was the fact she embarrassed herself by summoning a Boarbatusk in the middle of a charity party for Vale. I was tempted to challenge her to a spar right then and there to see how my silhouettes faired against her summons, but instead I settled on simply displaying my own talents when she inquired as to how my own silhouette's summoning process worked. Though I'll never admit it, I think her summoning is much more effective than my own. It may take focus, but hers isn't limited to silhouettes of herself like my summons are, and the process for her doesn't exactly draw on power from a pool of fire she uses to fuel her more powerful attacks like my Semblance does.

I'm glad when it came to recounting the battles against Tyrian and Arach-Nid, and the Nuckelavee, Ruby and Lux took point as chief storytellers. I'm perfectly adept at describing a fight, but the vigor and energy the two of them put into every scene just put a smile on everyone's faces. Despite the story itself being anything but cheery in nature, it did wind up making us all reflect on how much we'd grown in the past few months, both as people and as Huntsmen. That, and Ren chiming in with some speech I imagine he came up with on the spot. At least if being a Huntsman doesn't work out for him, Ren has a possible career as a philosopher. Come to think of it, I think all of us have hobbies that we could fall back on for a job if it comes down to it – but that's beside the point. Weiss was particularly interested in the whole idea of me metaphorically striking down a dark part of my clan's past before guiding my family name into a brighter future, which I will admit was flattering to see. If I had to guess as to why, I think its probably due to the parallels between the literal demons of my family's past and the metaphorical ones the Schnee name has been plagued with in recent years. There was once a time I took stock in the slander, too, but now I can see how the Schnee name has only been put through the ringer thanks to corporate greed above all else.

As everyone started filing out of the dining room in favor of finding some spots to relax before turning in for the night, and Lux sauntered off to help Tenebris with dishes, Yang took advantage of the lull in activity to have a sort of heart-to-heart with me concerning my parents' deaths. While nothing was said that I hadn't heard before (beyond Yang making the "I know what it's like to lose a part of me" argument that I had no words for), it did make me realize that I'm about as ready to move on with my life now as I'm ever going to be. After all, with all our friends safe and scattered about the place, it was hard to feel anything but ready to move on. In another time I might've needed the sympathy, but now? It doesn't feel hollow or anything, but it does feel like the storm clouds that fogged my thoughts about my parents have finally been blown to the wind for good, and that the sympathy nowadays just reassures me of who my friends are nowadays.

Aurora's been there for me since before I even met the twins and is like a sister to me, Tenebris is like the brother I never had, and Lux… Lux is something beyond what the word 'friend' or 'boyfriend' could describe. Even in the simple things, like getting ready for the day, relaxing and chatting, or making a meal, he's always wearing this mask of kindness that hasn't faltered a single day since we realized we both had feelings for each other. When it's just the two of us alone though, that simple expression of his caring and jokey self means so much more. It's a reminder to me that there's someone in this world that understands me like no one else, it's a kindred spirit I can look to on the rare days not being crushed by my parents' deaths seems impossible, and it's a helping hand that's willing to follow me to the ends of the world if it meant we could keep each other safe. I don't know if I'll ever be able to write a poem meaningful enough or craft a trinket endearing enough to ever fully express the way I feel for him, but I think that between us, maybe those things aren't necessary. Sometimes just basking in one another's presence and being reminded we're both still alive makes me feel like that's enough for us both to feel content, or even safe, no matter how dire the situation we may be facing. Thinking about how far we've come together and how Lux makes me feel I'm living a storybook romance when he's around, I don't think that I'd even be against the idea of _marrying_ him someday if he wanted to ask _that_ question – but that can hopefully wait until _far_ in the future, when we aren't trying to stop Salem from doing gods-know-what.

* * *

 _Note to my Special Someone:_

 _You know Opal, you really should try and hide your journal a bit better if you don't want me to find it – I know that we share the same room and all, but at least try not to leave it poking out from under the bed like this! But before you close your journal without reading the rest of this note to slap the crap out of me, just hear me out! After all, it's not like I was trying to dig up dirt about you or learn some of your dark secrets or anything when I stumbled across this! I was just... curious about how you felt about me – from when we met up until now. And could you blame me...? I'm pretty sure I can't count the number of times you and I have both failed to put into words exactly how we feel about each other, so I was just hoping to find a clue or something in here by skimming through just the parts you mention me in. And if you still wanna beat the ever-loving crap out of me after you read this, I've only gotta request for you to just… keep in mind where you're hitting me, ok?_

 _Now, first thing's first – marriage? While I have thought about it, I wouldn't worry. I'm not thinking about proposing anytime soon! Though it's good to know you aren't opposed to the idea, I'm glad to know that we both agree that we need to settle this grand old 'war with Salem' business before we even think about settling down. Besides, you haven't technically even met my parents yet, so I think it'd be pretty awkward if my parents only ever heard about you from my gushing before we ran into them engaged, you know? Not that I think they don't like you! My dad likes anyone that earns me and Tenebris' respect, and even though Mom's slow to warm up to anyone, I think that she's open to the idea that you're the one for me. Besides, once they meet you in the flesh one day, they for sure won't have any problem with the idea of me spending my life with you. After all, if I of all people could make a good first impression, I'm sure someone as talented, kind, and smart as you could earn my mom's seal of approval for us to be something more. Not that I need it, since they trust me enough to find the right person for myself and all. I just wanna let you know that I certainly look forward to that distant day in the future, when it maybe comes – if at least just to remind me how lucky I am to have found you._

 _Anyway, you don't need to write any poems or make any trinkets for me to let me know how you feel! I already kinda figured out how much I mean to you – it's not exactly like you hide your feelings for me whenever we're together, especially after Aurora and Tenebris finally got me to man up and ask you out to the Beacon Dance. Even just that first night at the dance told me all I needed to know about how genuine you were about us. From how you went out of your way to remind me I didn't need to act any different around you for you to love me, to how you didn't get mad when I fumbled and nearly stepped on your toes, to how you didn't hesitate when we ended up sharing our first kiss, I'd have to be the biggest idiot on Remnant to not understand how much I meant to you. Now, if you're wondering if I feel the same way – since you're always scribbling away about me complimenting you or something in your journal – let me tell you what you might've not noticed I love about you. You're more selfless than anyone I've ever met before, your commitment to keeping those close to you safe has always made my heart soar when I'm in your arms, and the way I notice you looking at me with that small, almost shy, smile sometimes in the morning never fails to make me feel like I'm the luckiest man alive. You understand and appreciate me like no one I've ever met before, and so the second you told me about why you wanted to become a Huntress, and I realized just how much we had in common, of course you won my heart long before we started 'properly' dating. My one regret is despite having the eyes of a gods-damned eagle, I was still too blind to see that simply asking you out was enough to make you happy until Aurora pointed it out to me – but I'm glad she did. Otherwise we probably wouldn't have even had the chance to share the time together we did before Vale fell apart and we had the entire world to worry about. You're also absolutely gorgeous despite just wearing your hair in a ponytail and waltzing around in a simple gi every day, but that's beside the point. Figured it was worth a mention though!_

 _Oh, and I wouldn't go looking for my journal if I were you. I know you and I are both not naïve enough to think we're both innocent-minded saints or anything, and you manage to keep your journal entries all sweet, concise, and clean when it comes to our relationship but… well, let's just say you wouldn't just be blushing a little if you read some of the things I've written down about you in my own journal. So yeah, don't go looking for my journal. If you want to hear about those thoughts then, well, we could probably do that some other time. Preferably when we're alone and not going to be interrupted for a little while, so that I don't die if anyone walks in on our conversation... or whatever it is we'd be doing._

 _Your Special Someone;_

 _~Lux Griseo~_

 _P.S. I'm not gonna lie, I get the feeling Tenebris' cooking is going to blow Pigsy's out of the water someday. Pigsy may have experience, but his expertise is firmly limited to Mistral cuisine. Tenebris, on the other hand, seems to know more about worldwide recipes than Pigsy can wrap his head around, and give him a few years of experience cooking, and I wouldn't be surprised if Tenebris is teaching Pigsy a thing or two about food. It'd certainly be a sight to behold, eh? Oh, and gods bless you for being able to keep up with Aurora in melee combat when you're sparring – she may tell me I'm a natural-born fighter with a quarterstaff, but that doesn't stop her from absolutely decimating me whenever we're training._

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Y'know, I thought writing this chapter was going to be a** _ **lot**_ **harder than it turned out to be. To start the author's note itself off; yes, I know the iaijutsu is Adam's thing, but there's a reason I had Opal learn of it beyond the 'now she's extra cool because one-shot ninja style attack' thing. Also, if you've ever watched ATLA, then you'll understand the Baguazhang/quarterstaff references and why I had Lux learn it and incorporate it with his Semblance.**

 **As for the second entry of this chapter, I think most of it speaks for itself, but I wanted to make some things clear. Is Opal done grieving? For the most part, yes. Will she not be touchy about her parents anymore if/when she sees those people involved in their deaths and if/when they taunt her about it? Don't be surprised if she isn't. While I don't think anyone could ever live down their parents' deaths, I do think that Opal is – like she said – about as ready to move on with life as she's ever going to be, even if there still are those odd days when grief rears its ugly head again.**

 **Since a good reason she's so well-recovered is thanks to Lux's support (among other things) I figured a little bit of self-reflection on how she feels about her boyfriend was in order. Speaking of, another shout-out to Dunedan for giving me the inspiration to have Lux find Opal's journal and leave a note in it! I swear half the reason I'm so happy with this story is because of Dunedan's continued moments of inspiration. Fun facts time btw, I never had a chance to work in their parents' names properly but here they are!**

 **Opal:** **Beryl and Peridot Malachite – Peridot is a close-to-green-ish yellow stone, and Beryl can flat-out be a green stone, so since they kept in like with the Malachite color and naming scheme of precious green stones, I made them her parents' names. It also helped that Opal Beifong is a character in Avatar, so I could get behind Opal being a name in the RWBY-verse too when it came to coming up with Opal in the first place.  
** **Aurora:** **Sol and Luna Borealis – The sun helps cause the Aurora, so I thought it fit, and the moon is always complimentary to the sun so it only made sense to me for them to be a couple.**

 **Wait… Volume 5 finale is coming up. Wow that got here quick!**

 **Edit:** **So, for Lux, if you want something of an idea of what Lux's gonna be working with from now on in terms of his technique with his quarterstaff, literally watch just about any episode of Avatar the Last Airbender with Aang in it. Oh, and I'd been wracking my brain for SOOO long trying to figure out what – if anything – Wiz's secondary weapon mode could be, and so thinking about Lux's Semblance while binging ATLA gave me that final bit of inspiration I needed to come back and edit this chapter to install the upgrade here, where it makes sense for the twins to be getting their gear upgraded. As for Tenebris? Not much to say about his upgrades' 'inspirations' besides me wanted to not-so-subtly imply that he partially wields Boomstick like Doomfist does his gauntlet. What can I say? I'm a sucker for explosive melee combo fighters with devastating firepower.**


	17. The Battle for Haven

The Battle for Haven:

Note to self before I start detailing the emotional roller coaster I can call my day; never leave my journal somewhere as obvious as under the bed, at least not if I'm gonna end up leaving it poking out where Lux could find it. Thank goodness there was nothing in here that I wouldn't be able to live down – unlike Lux, who seems almost over-the-top protective of what he has written about us in his journal. I don't think I need much of a clue as to what he meant by us needing _privacy_ for me to hear about what he's written about in his journal to figure out _exactly_ what he had in mind – not that I'm complaining about it… Anyway, reading about how he feels about me, and about us possibly tying the knot one day turned me into such an absolute mess when I got done with his note that I didn't even consider telling him off for reading my journal. I swear, I ended up spending more of my morning fighting the blush that threatened to blossom on my face whenever he gave me that knowing glance of his than anything productive, and it took everything in me to wait until he wasn't occupied with getting ready for the day to talk to him about the note he left for me. Needless to say, I spent most of the earlier hours of the day turning into a puddle of mush before I addressed the Goliath in the room of him reading my journal, but I don't think I'd trade it for anything with the way he so genuinely apologized for me being so flustered. Not only did he apologize, but he then went ahead and made my favorite breakfast before promising to continue trying to make things up to me, despite me telling him his apology was more than enough – which was an adorable gesture, coming from him. That was the only true bright spot of the day I had up until recently too, which made that moment even more valuable to me as the day progressed.

Considering how adamant Lionheart was about our inability to pursue the Spring Maiden when we visited Haven, I don't think a single one of us were fooled when he called Qrow with "great news" about how he'd suddenly had a breakthrough with the city council. If there's one thing I learned being raised in Mistral, it's that the bureaucracy of government is even more convoluted than the traditions some centuries-old clans uphold sometimes. As such, none of us were surprised when Qrow told us to go with him to meet Lionheart, and to bring our weapons. I didn't want to believe that Lionheart had any malicious intent for us when we first arrived in Mistral – I did look up to him once, after all – but the shadiness of his breakthrough around the same time it would make strategic sense for Haven to be attacked was too much for me to continue hoping he was still on our side. I had the inner council stay behind; despite Sandy's protests, I think he eventually realized that even though we may have been walking into a trap, it'd be for the best that three of my clan's most capable fighters be ready to lend a helping hand in case a city-wide trap was sprung while we were at Haven. So far as I'm aware, no such event transpired after we left, but I could tell that Sanzang agreed with the call thanks to the wise nod he threw my way on our way out.

As expected, Lionheart showed his true colors within moments of us walking through the doors of the Grand Hall. After a few bumbling moments of him attempting to stay discrete about the trap, Yang and Lux both noticed a certain suspicious-looking Raven watching over us. As Qrow only narrowly missed Raven as she unveiled herself to us all (and only ever-so-slightly unnerved us with the sudden shift from bird to human form), it didn't take long for her start refusing to listen to reason, to the possibility of defeating Salem, and she opened a portal that let the floodgates open. Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Vernal (who I think was the Spring Maiden) stepped through the portal, and a beast of a man named Hazel locked the doors behind us as he let everyone know the White Fang was preparing to destroy Haven's CCT Tower. As if being utterly cornered by the same people that'd brought so much pain to us wasn't enough, we were in a race against the clock, and the fact Cinder was intentionally trying to get a rise out of Jaune and Pyrrha certainly didn't help. Despite months of meditation and training in self-control, I can't say I blame Jaune for starting the battle off by charging Cinder alongside Pyrrha. I was tempted to follow them, but I knew that with such a hectic fight breaking out, the three of us focusing on her at the same time with no practice fighting together would just end in me getting in the way.

While everyone else was picking and choosing their targets, I didn't waste any time charging Lionheart alongside Ozpin. I'd read enough about Lionheart to know that even with age, his glyph weapon would be more than capable of taking on Ozpin in a one-on-one duel. What's more, I wasn't about to let the professor get away with selling out the souls of every honorable Huntsman I'd ever known in Mistral without a fight. I may not have been able to exercise any of my new techniques, but I could tell by the way he sometimes only narrowly dodged Lionheart's glyphs that me assisting Ozpin was the right call. Age be damned, he was still Leonardo Lionheart, and his aim and quick-thinking strategies in a fight kept us from ever pressing any advantage we even tried to build up. That having been said, I do think that I could've analyzed his form for a weakness in due time, but I never had the chance to test that theory. After the three of us backed off from one another during a lull in our fight, all I could remember hearing was Jaune and Pyrrha being knocked back _hard_ before Cinder sent a lance straight into Aurora's armor.

From what I'd picked up on from what few glances I could throw her during my fight with Lionheart, Aurora was fighting Vernal alongside Weiss, and the two of them were doing great up until that point. When Weiss was thrown out of the fight after Vernal landed a clean hit, and Cinder started training a lance on her just to spite Jaune and Pyrrha, Aurora broke out of her fight with Vernal to take the hit. I _know_ that if Aurora didn't dive in for the save, Weiss would probably have died there, but it still almost made me panic when I saw her go flying and land against a nearby wall. In fact, I didn't even notice Vernal, Cinder, and Raven descend into the Vault of the Spring Maiden until Lux called out that they were headed down. From what Jaune and Pyrrha could tell me when I ran over to see if she was okay (thank goodness Ozpin understood my concern enough to let me leave Lionheart to him for a moment), the lance had broken through her armor _only_ enough to badly wound her – but she would need help if we wanted to stop her from bleeding out before the fight was over. The worst thing was that, despite Aurora trying to put on a brave face for me, I wasn't sure if they'd be able to stop the bleeding in time. Luckily for us, the gods seemed to have finally smiled down on us for once. As Jaune put some pressure on the wound and regained his earlier calm from before the fight to keep the situation under control, his Semblance finally decided to show its face. As soon as he assured me his own Aura was amplifying Aurora's enough to heal her, and Pyrrha assured me no one was going to get close to her, I knew that it was time to return to the fight against Lionheart. Once again, I never had the chance.

Before I was even done rising from my spot next to Aurora, Lionheart blasted me in the back, so I wouldn't be able to interfere. After I went flying, I never saw the coward again for the rest of the battle, and from the fact no one's seen him since the battle's end, I can only assume he's either dead or far out of Mistral by now. Judging by the brutality some of Salem's party employ though, I think the former idea's more likely. Regardless of Lionheart's fate, I was sent flying out of the Grand Hall and into the courtyard, where I saw two _more_ people I never expected to see anytime soon. Blake and Sun were hard at work fighting the White Fang (as their friend Ilia was disarming the bombs of the CCT Tower and Blake's parents were fighting the White Fang with their own militia, as I later found out), and instead of simply giving a brief hello and running back indoors, I joined in on the fight. I'm glad I did too, because Adam Taurus didn't waste any time after noticing Blake's presence before showing his face. Even though it was three-on-one, from what little time I spent fighting him before Blake assured me she and Sun could handle him, and that I should rejoin the others in the Grand Hall, it was clear that he was adept at his own form of iaijutsu. Even though our fight was only a brief exchange of blows (and his barbs at me "betraying the Faunus") instead of anything prolonged and serious, in some weird way, I hope to go toe to toe with him again someday. A student of spiritual flame and self-ascension against a terrorist, but both sharing immense skill with iaijutsu-infused styles of combat – it'd be a battle for the ages.

When I finally made it back into the Grand Hall, Hazel had infused himself with pure Dust crystals in a fight against Lux, Tenebris, Nora, Ren, and even Ozpin. It was clear that despite their best efforts, Hazel's sheer willpower was too much for anyone to stop with what little experience we had fighting him. Even with all the bullet wounds from Lux's rifle and scorch marks from all the blows Tenebris must've landed on the behemoth of a man, he wasn't going down. I was about to intervene when Ozpin – who'd been desperately trying to avoid Hazel's blows since he seemed to be the focus of the monster's rage – told me to go with Yang into the Vault of the Spring Maiden to secure the Relic. There was no time to argue, and after Lux sent me a drained but reassuring "We got this," Yang and I rushed towards the elevator that led to the Vault. As Mercury tried to snag Yang's arm on our way there, Pyrrha's shield decked him, and we didn't waste even a moment for thanks before descending into the Vault – though I did make a point of it to thank her when everything was over.

By the time our descent into the Vault was complete, it seemed like a lot had already happened despite Raven and Cinder merely staring one another down. We didn't have time to question why the Vault was already open or why Vernal was dead on the ground and what that meant for the power of the Spring Maiden before Raven noticed us. When Raven turned and tried to convince Yang and I to leave, Cinder – opportunist that she was – took the opportunity to blast her in the back. It was more than powerful enough to break Raven's Aura, and I didn't need the acrid smell of burnt flesh to hit me to tell me she was out of commission for whatever came next. Whatever hopes we might've had of teaming up on Cinder with Raven being dead, I intervened before any more damage could be done. After I told Yang to get the Relic and her mother out of there while I stalled for time, I pressured Cinder off the narrow path we were fighting on deeper into the cavern and wasted no time in hot pursuit. Cinder may have been able to best me with no trouble when I was emotionally broken and physically drained beyond belief, but she wasn't ready for me when I rushed, not with how much I'd grown. At least, not at first.

Despite having the advantage when the fight first started out due to her underestimating me, it was clear that I had to pull out all the stops if I even wanted a chance at keeping her busy. My new fighting style might've not been able to exploit what weaknesses in her form I saw thanks to her proficiency with the power of the Fall Maiden, but it was enough to give me a fighting chance. My swordplay mixed with my ascended state was enough to keep her from ever getting dangerously close to close to me, and my training with iaijutsu kept me fast enough to cut through whatever stones and boulders of ice she hurled my way. Eventually, she was so frustrated she ditched her blades entirely. She knew she couldn't best me by the blade, and so for the next few minutes, I peppered her with quick jabs from my spiritual flame-enhanced martial arts while she tried to crush me under the weight of her powers. I would say that it was anyone's guess as to who would win that fight, but the thing is, no matter how many quick strikes I landed on her, no matter how quickly I moved, there was no getting close enough to her to deliver the devastating strike I knew would end our fight. The only reason I was able to even land so many jabs on her once she ditched her blades was because she hadn't yet created a barrier of the elements around herself, and once she did, I was entirely on the back foot. My arrows were sent flying by her gale-force winds, my silhouettes were crushed underneath the strength of her elemental barrier, and unless I wanted to get torched, striking her with Emerald was out of the question, so all that I could do then was dodge.

After I only narrowly evaded an arc of flame she sent my way that turned the stone it struck to a sea of molten rock, she took advantage of my stride being broken to try and fly back up to Yang and Raven. I know that I could've gone the less potentially deadly route of rushing up the cliffside alongside her to slow her down, but I didn't want to run the risk of being sent careening out of control into the bed of lava that surrounded me on the floor of the cavern, so I did what I thought would buy Yang just a little more time. As I sent a spirit fire arrow into the cliffside above where Cinder was flying, my only intent was for the combined explosion and rockfall to slow her down – what came next was on her. Instead of listening to my warning about the rockfall, she reeled around to try and get rid of me for good due to my being a continued thorn in her side. She turned everything nearby except a stalagmite I perched myself on to lava in some twisted display of her prowess faster than I could find a route out of harm's way. I was mere breaths away from death as she prepared a blow I had no way of avoiding, and as she focused on telling me I was about to burn just as my parents did, she was cast down like a stone by the rockfall she'd declined to pay attention to.

As soon as the edges of the pool of lava around me had cooled enough for me to propel myself across, I went to see if she how bad the damage was. I knew her Aura had broken when she was hit, and that she wasn't exactly going to be in fighting shape after the resulting fall, but I wasn't prepared to see the Fall Maiden _die_ because of her own hubris. Once, her eyes bore the confidence and bravado of a person who'd brought ruin to an entire Huntsman Academy and emerged alive, but right then, they held more venom and malice in them than even mine had when Cinder had taunted me about my parents' deaths during the fall of Beacon. She didn't even look at me before she uttered her final words. She just closed her eyes, contentedly said Sustrai's name, and passed on with a look on her face that would've made you think she'd just emerged on top in our encounter. I didn't put two and two together as to what the meaning behind her final words was until I was well on my way back up the cliffside, and once I realized she'd sent on the powers of the Fall Maiden to Emerald, it suddenly made sense why she died with such a peaceful look on her face. She _knew_ that Emerald's loyalty to her would lead her to avenge her death so long as she has the power to do so, so even if she'd lost in life, she could still try and make me pay in death by choosing her successor herself.

By the time I climbed back up and Yang hefted me up the final few footholds, Raven was gone, and Yang's free hand held the Relic of Knowledge. Before she could inquire what happened down below, I asked her what'd happened to Raven, since she was nowhere to be found. She simply said she didn't want to talk about it, and considering her 'relationship' with her mother, I can only imagine what'd happened while I was fighting Cinder to make Raven suddenly disappear. The ride back up to the Grand Hall was painfully slow, and somehow having to tell Yang that I'd indirectly killed Cinder was worse than having to tell Ruby and the gang that I directly killed Arach Nid. Yang didn't seem as concerned with the fact I'd ended up killing the Fall Maiden in as much as she was concerned with my guess as to where the power had gone next, but something about watching Cinder leave this world – not unlike my parents – was worse than only seeing the unhinged malice in Arach's eyes fade as he died. Yang must've picked up on what I was feeling too, because she gave me a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before the ride was done and said that she would tell Qrow what'd happened in the Vault, so I could go check on Aurora. I would've been able to tell Qrow what'd happened if it came down to it, but I thanked her immensely for the gesture nonetheless.

Before she could make good on that offer though, the first thing we saw when the elevator finished its ascent was Emerald on her knees and clutching her head, wreathed in the flames of the Fall Maiden. The entire fight was already coming to a close anyway, but the second Emerald let out a guttural cry of grief and tears started falling from her cheeks, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to notice the new Fall Maiden. It was so quiet for a moment that you could've heard a pin drop, despite the Mistral police airships flying outside, which only made what came next even more terrifying. Emerald threw me a grief-filled death glare the moment she saw me, and before anyone could even move, an illusion of the abomination we now know to be Salem was summoned and we were all too petrified to move. Once everyone came to, Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel were long gone, and Qrow explained what exactly we just saw before pulling me and Yang aside. Yang made good on her offer and covered for me though, and I didn't have to face Qrow to answer his question as to why Emerald looked at me like I was the unholy hybridization of Grimm and man before I was already at Aurora's side. Considering how torn up she and Mercury looked when they realized Cinder was dead, it doesn't take a genius to figure out they'll be coming for blood next time we meet.

JNPR was already walking out of the Grand Hall to see if there were any wounded that needed help outside, and RWBY was having a heartfelt group hug that I could only imagine was cathartic for all of them by the time I reached my team – or more specifically, Aurora. I have no shame in saying I nearby bowled her over when I ran over to give her a hug and ask if she was okay. Even though she obviously was (what with her walking around and all), it was still good to hear it out loud after everything that'd happened. With the way she casually smiled as she repaired her armor with her Semblance, you'd think she wasn't even severely wounded in a battle that very much so decided the fate of Haven Academy. Despite the obvious opportunity to tease me for running into the arms of my best friend and fretting over her before I even asked how he – my _boyfriend_ – and Tenebris were doing, for once, Lux decided to keep his mouth shut and let me recover from my near-panic at the possibility of losing another person so close to me. Not that I didn't leap into his arms to thank him for not doing anything stupid while fighting Hazel when Aurora finally convinced me to stop fretting over her – finally feeling some sense of safety and warmth in Lux's arms after the battle was over certainly helped me realize we were all okay, that's for sure.

Aside from the distinct acrid smell that's clinging to us all thanks to all the gunfire Lux and Tenebris unleashed, and the fact I'm currently fighting the urge to accept Lux's offer for me to rest my head on his shoulder and pass out for the next few hours as Qrow decides if he wants to tell us what he's talking to Ozpin about, I think we've all come out physically none the worse for wear. Mentally? While I wouldn't say _all_ of us have been as mentally taxed as we were during and after the fall of Beacon, I think we're all looking forward to leaving Haven behind later tonight. With my team and everyone else safe and sound, and the Relic securely in our hands, I think at least I can look past my worries about the future long enough to call tonight a win and get a good night's sleep – if and when we finally head back home, that is.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Rest assured, I will very likely return to this story as new volumes come out, but only after each one is complete! I don't want to end up mucking arcs up in each volume yet to come as the episodes come out, after all. Now on with the actual notes about this chapter! Opal didn't entirely flip out over Aurora getting hurt by Cinder as a signifier that she's grown a** _ **lot**_ **since they last met. What's more, I couldn't imagine Opal flipping out since she could plainly see Aurora both still breathing thanks to her armor, and Jaune being there to help stabilize her. Speaking of Jaune, I like to think in this timeline (since he's way more well-rounded and calm) that Jaune's Semblance woke not due to desperation, but due to the degree of self-control he's developed thanks to meditation. It makes Jaune's Semblance seem like less of a deus ex machina and more of a payoff for his hard work and growth in self-control.**

 **And about armor, people should really wear more of that in RWBY, huh? It woulda saved Weiss a lot of trouble like it did Aurora. I understand people like to look cool and Auras exist, but like… people's Auras get broken all the time. Wouldn't it make sense to not let yourself be one-shot if/when your Aura fails you? Oh, the woes of looking cool in a fictional universe being prioritized above one's own safety. Then again, Aurora's armor wasn't enough to stop her from being severely wounded by Cinder's lance, so maybe it's only good for the minor scuffles and that's why no one seems to use it. Still, Tenebris' armor was designed to be tough enough to withstand his own explosives point-blank, so… I suppose it's more of a case-by-case thing.**

 **Oh, and by the way, if you're wondering how Emerald's gonna look now that she's the Fall Maiden, I highly recommend you search up "Labyrinth of Illusions RWBY Fanart" on google. Alongside me wanting Opal to have some impact on the story beyond existing and dealing with her clan's past enemies and growing as a person, that fanart really did help me figure out how to make that big change. That and Dunedan. That author's helped me sooooo much with my creative process you have no idea. Speaking of the effects of Cinder's death, I know it was a very 'Disney' way to kill of Cinder, but I can't help but feel Opal shooting an arrow straight-up into her back would've been too cruel, despite everything Cinder's done to her – directly or otherwise.  
**


	18. Argus Limited & Uncovered

Argus Limited:

Well, I can't say that after the Relic of Knowledge was nearly stolen from the Vault of the Spring Maiden that I expected to hang around Mistral for long, but I'm glad Qrow was kind enough to have us stick around for a little while. Even though I'm sure that was more because he and Ozpin wanted to play damage control and see how things played out here than anything, it was still a more than welcome opportunity to recover from everything that happened at Haven. The past two weeks, for better or for worse in terms of the Relic's safety, have been relatively peaceful – not that I'm complaining. It's given me plenty of time to make sure Aurora wasn't just faking being fine after being nearly _impaled_ (which she wasn't, somehow) and train with Lux when we weren't busy catching up with Blake, which I was more than thankful for. After hearing about everything she went through dealing with the White Fang in Menagerie, I couldn't help but just pray that we're done with those lunatics for good.

Actually… that hope might not be too insane a thing to really believe, now that I think about it. I mean, I know it's only been two weeks and I really shouldn't assume anything this early, but I really do think that how Faunus are seen in Mistral is improving. Not just because Blake's dad and his militia were given credit for saving Haven and everyone went nuts showering them with praise across the city, but I've been noticing little things too that tell me the Faunus might just be better off now than they were before. For instance, while no one in the market ever really bothered to confront me or Lux directly for being Faunus thanks to me being from an upper-class clan, just a few days before Haven, I heard about a poor Faunus getting robbed blind just for trying to ask for directions, but now? I heard about a similar situation happening, but the people who tried to bully the Faunus, in that case, were scared off by a crowd of people that came to their aid. I know I could just be overly optimistic to believe that, but I've got to hope that what I'm seeing and hearing about isn't just a run of good luck for Faunus around the city. After all, it's not like I can go back or call for status updates now to see if I was right – not now that we're well on our way to Argus.

It's only been a few hours and all, but I still think leaving our families behind this time around was extra rough on me and Aurora than it was before. Right before we were set to board the train, Aurora's parents, Sanzang, Sandy, and Pigsy all caught up with us in time to say goodbye like we planned, and man… that didn't make it any easier on any of us.

First off, Aurora's parents looked as heartbroken as they were when they found out she was hurt back at the battle at Haven, which was no surprise, but the way they even extended their worry for Aurora's safety to include the rest of the team just struck a chord with me – and that was just the start of our goodbyes! The inner council was up next, and although Sandy did sorta purposefully embarrass me by telling Lux to treat me well before Pigsy called him out, I think Sandy keeping the mood light kept me from feeling worse than I did when I finally had to say my goodbyes – especially to Sanzang. I swear, if it wasn't for Sandy being himself, I probably woulda wound up shedding more than just a few sappy tears when Sanzang told me he'd always be there if I needed him. I know he was just being his normal, caring, wise self when he said that but gods-dammit if he didn't wind up accidentally reminding me how lucky I was to have people like him and my friends around to support me. For crying out loud, even Tenebris and Pigsy were feeling all emotional when they had to say goodbye – though I think they were way more dramatic than the rest of us, seeing as they were both outright _weeping_ at how they couldn't cook together anymore.

After a few final, painful goodbyes and a few moments of us all trying to pry Tenebris and Pigsy apart, we caught up with RWBY and JNPR and we were on our way to the Argus Limited. Well, at least we were when Blake caught up with us after saying goodbye to Sun. I'd already said my goodbyes before we got to the train station, but I still can't figure out if I should be happy or sad that we're not gonna have that awesome lunatic around. Considering how he's headed to Vacuo with his team, and there's a Relic we'll probably need to protect there at some point, I think I'm gonna hold out hope that we'll see him again before long. Anyway, after Blake caught up and we dealt with two Huntsmen that seem more like flunkies and halfway-extortionists than actual graduates (seriously, who names their kids Dee and Dudley?), we were all aboard, found our rooms, and we're hopefully gonna be in for smooth sailing from here on to Argus. With any luck, Qrow and Ozpin will be able to work their magic and convince the Atlesian military there to let us through the closed borders, and the Relic of Knowledge will be safe and sound once again. In the meantime, at least I have Aurora whooping Lux's butt in training to entertain myself with if I run out of reading material from home to pass the time.

* * *

Uncovered:

Sometimes I wonder if it's not just Qrow that's cursed with misfortune that makes every day range from "inconvenient" to "oh my gods, I have a migraine now, how much more of this chaos do I have to endure?!" I know it was dumb of me to think that we wouldn't even hear about Grimm nearby on our way to Argus, but I at least expected to make it there without having to walk after a Grimm attack! Of all the Grimm that could find their way to a speeding train full of civilians, why did it have to be a swarm of Manticores?!

Hearing that it was a bunch of fireball-spewing Grimm that we had to fight was difficult enough considering we were on a moving train, but that in of itself wasn't even the first utter disaster we had to endure today. Despite most of us doing rather well, Dee – big shock – managed to get himself snatched by a Manticore on a fly-by, and if it wasn't for Lux quickly hurling Tenebris at the Grimm before it could fly away, I'm pretty sure Dee would've been a goner. That having been said… those two idiots didn't help our situation when they decided to 'thank' the twins. For saving their lives, they did the worst thing possible and activated the train's automated defense systems, thus panicking literally every passenger aboard and inviting even _more_ Manticores to come flying our way. Once we finally hit a tunnel and had to all retreat inside though, that's when the real domino effect of disasters began.

As Jaune was healing Dee and Dudley's wounds they sustained, thanks to them being too slow to get back inside, and Ren, Nora, and Aurora were planning on using Jaune to amp up Ren's Semblance and hide everyone on the train, Ozpin decided to grace us with the knowledge that the Relic attracted Grimm just like negative emotions. So, with that in mind, Ruby and I elected to leave JNPR on guard duty with the train – honestly, Pyrrha alone would've made any straggler Grimm next to harmless, but better safe than sorry – while the rest of us kept the rest of the Grimm occupied before we could catch up. All things considered, and despite everyone's irritation at Ozpin keeping yet another secret from us, the plan worked perfectly up until one of the final Manticores managed to blast the rails in front of us before Qrow and Ruby could kill it.

So yeah, beginning our afternoon with a train crash partly caused by Ozpin keeping secrets from us wasn't exactly something that put us in an agreeable mood, especially when we found this old lady, Maria Calavera, having stowed away in one of the train cars we were fighting on. She seems nice enough, but when we found her and were digging our things out of the snow, I couldn't help but sympathize with Yang when she mentioned how this day went from bad to worse. With how we now had to both escort an old lady we didn't even know to safety while also keeping the Relic secure, I was inclined to agree, and so I didn't feel the need to intervene when Yang started giving Ozpin a piece of her mind about his most recent half-truth.

Although Ozpin did decide to tell us that he thinks the Relic faintly attracts Grimm "due to its origin," with the way he so offhandedly said it, I wasn't surprised to see Tenebris give us a look that told us he was about three steps away from charging the bastard so we could get the full truth out of him for once. After some questioning from Aurora and I, he got around to explaining that the reason he kept so many secrets was because of how many times he'd been betrayed in the past, with Lionheart being the most recent example. Although me and Aurora weren't gonna poke holes in his logic – especially when it came to Lionheart being remembered as a hero, since we idolized him – we weren't going to let him off the hook that easily. Me and Aurora were in the middle of pointing out that since our _lives_ are on the line, we more than deserve the full truth from him, no matter how harsh, when Ozpin noticed he no longer had the Relic on him.

As soon as Ozpin started pushing Ruby to let him carry it, we knew something was up even before Oscar told us that the professor was hiding something from us. Oscar told us how to summon Jinn – a spirit of knowledge, of all things – and before Ozpin could stop her, Ruby called her out of the lamp and asked what he was hiding from us. I don't know what I expected to happen after a provocative-looking blue spirit was asked to reveal untold amounts of information to us all, but the last thing I expected was to be whisked away to some void that took shape so quickly it felt like some fairy tale come to life.

Jinn told us all separately, in our own storybook realms, everything about Ozpin and his quest. How Salem and him – Ozma – were once in love before he died, how she tried to resurrect him by duping the gods of light and darkness before she wound up getting all of humanity wiped out and the moon shattered after she was cursed with immortality, how he came back to live with her and maybe try to make humanity (and now the Faunus, too) worthy of the gods again lest we be wiped out before he ended up getting himself and his kids _killed_ by Salem, _everything._ As if learning that humanity was wiped out and the Faunus never even existed until the God of Darkness (and learning about these two gods I never even heard of in the first place!) casually committed genocide wasn't bad enough, hearing that Salem literally _can't_ be killed just pushed me and Yang over the edge.

It wasn't long after Yang was venting at Ozpin for having kept so much from us that I couldn't contain myself any longer, and now that I've had some time to think, I _really_ regret blowing up like I did. Instead of trying to mediate the situation like Aurora or Ruby did, I just went so ballistic at Ozpin that I just made the situation so much worse than it already was. I told him that because of him using us as his pawns in his war against Salem, some of us have lost a _lot_ more than just our peace of mind – something that, with me and Yang in front of him, he had no words for. As soon as Aurora and Lux stopped me from charging Ozpin, I realized how wrong it was to blame him for my parents' deaths. I know it was because of Cinder's actions, and she's paid for it, but… I guess that with how long he kept us in the dark, I just couldn't find it in me to think straight right then.

While the two of them were calming me down and telling me that they were just as angry at him for putting their lives on the line as I was, Ruby and Tenebris were wise enough to ask Ozpin what his plan is to defeat Salem. Of course, because nothing seems to want to go our way nowadays, Ozpin just told us he didn't have one. With that news, I don't think any of us could've been bothered to stop Qrow from walloping him across the clearing, but given how Qrow then wound up making Ozpin feel so terrible that he outright locked himself away in Oscar's head… I can't imagine us doing nothing to stop him was a good idea.

Even though Maria then slapped some sense into us by reminding us that we needed to find shelter, and I was kinda glad at the moment to be done with Ozpin for at least a little while, I still have my doubts as to if we'll even make it to Argus unharmed now. With all the negativity around us concerning Ozpin and the fact Weiss, Yang, and Qrow found dead bodies _everywhere_ across the farms we've hunkered down in, I can't imagine the Grimm will be far behind us. With any luck though, with everyone distracting themselves – Weiss and Ruby by finding food, Blake and Yang by figuring out how to hitch the flatbed they found to Bumblebee, and Oscar and Maria by keeping the fire going while me and the team keep watch from the second floor – hopefully the Grimm won't detect our underlying negativity. The whiteout seems to be lightening up, at least, so with Lux on the case I can at least hold out hope we'll see the Grimm coming if they do track us down. For the sake of safety though, I think I'm gonna try and drag the team out for a patrol tomorrow despite how tired everyone is, myself included. Even if everyone's too tired or distracted to be too negative right now, that doesn't mean the Relic won't give us away if we aren't cautious about looking out for Grimm.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Long time to read! Anywho, no time for idle chit-chat, background notes time! For the first entry, just a rather minor note aside from the obvious 'hey I wanted to make there be some genuine moments mixed with comedy just like Volume 6's opening itself did' thing. I understand Dee and Dudley are Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dumb but** _ **oh my god**_ **did they get on my nerves. I know they're throwaway characters, but geez! If they were graduates from Haven (doubtful), no wonder all the Huntsmen there got wiped out!**

 **As for the more important notes I wanted to share in the second entry? While I know Opal has often been described as somewhere between led by emotion and led by her skills as a leader and friend of others, I do think that, given how high emotions were running in the aftermath of everyone suffering a train crash and the reveal of Ozpin's seemingly doomed-to-fail quest, Opal exploding at Ozpin would only be the only thing that'd make sense. After all, how would you react if your parents died due to the actions of a psychopath of a woman who worked for the master of all abominations in your world, only to find out months later that the person you'd been fighting for to stop said abominations' master has been hiding from you that fact that your mission is seemingly impossible to complete? Given how much Opal's lost – albeit very indirectly – to Ozpin's war with Salem, I think her reaction was as apt and human a reaction I could give her.**

 **Oh, and Tenebris being smart for a second and asking Ozpin what his plan is with Ruby? Though I did establish Lux as 'the brains' of their duo early on, by no means did I intend for Tenebris to be a dunce akin to Dee and Dudley's sheer inability to think logically. Tenebris isn't dumb, and although he isn't the smartest in the same way Weiss, Ren, or Opal are, he does have a tactical mind that lends itself greatly to his combat skills and understanding of conflict as a whole.**


	19. Apathy & Argus at Last

Apathy:

Now that we're on the road to Argus and we've all had some time to recover from what happened back at the farm, I must say that I'm glad I dragged myself and the team out to patrol the forest around the farm like we planned. At first, I thought that, with everything that happened yesterday, everyone being so tired was just to be expected but… I had no clue Grimm could be subtle enough to affect us without anyone even realizing it.

It seems that the reason we all woke up this morning more tired than we were last night wasn't because of some fatigue or bad vibes from yesterday, but instead, due to a kind of Grimm called 'The Apathy.' It's a pretty fitting name if you ask me, with how it drains people of their will to go on and all. Even if Iridescence wasn't around when RWBY was debating if we should even be delivering the Relic to Atlas now that we know Salem can't be stopped, I do know how the Apathy affected my team – and looking back, it wasn't pretty.

Even though RWBY and Qrow wound up suffering the worst of the Apathy's effects since they spent most of the morning at the farm, when I woke Iridescence up early for our patrol, it was still clear we weren't really ourselves. Tenebris almost refused to get out of bed, even to get some food in his stomach before we left, Lux was in such a deep sleep (which should've alerted me to something being wrong) that I had to shake him to wake him up, and Aurora seemed to not even care like she normally would have that I stayed up for both her and my shift keeping watch over the farm. With how all of us were somehow still exhausted, I consider myself lucky to still have found it in me to push us all onward and see our plan to scout out any Grimm that'd possibly followed us through.

When we finally dragged ourselves out of the perimeter of the farm, it was like the entire world sprung back to life. The air felt crisp and cold again, colors were becoming vivid as the sun began to rise, it was like only when we started our patrol that our night of sleep really kicked in. We all obviously assumed it was just thanks to the fresh air that we were feeling reinvigorated and everything, but in retrospect, I think it was more likely because we were outside the Apathy's range of influence. It was all the better too, since our assumptions about the Grimm following the Relic were proven right just a little while before we were going to head back to the farm. Granted, it was only a few Beowolves and Ursai we found headed there, but still – if we were still being affected by those Apathy when we ran into them, I dread to think what would've happened if we decided to fight them.

Regardless, after that minor scuffle was settled and we were headed back to report what we found to everyone, I think I speak for everyone on my team when I say we were rather surprised to see Oscar left on his own to repair the flatbed (which had blown a tire earlier – thanks bad luck Semblance!) – especially considering how we still didn't know what happened to make everyone on the farm suddenly drop dead. Oscar explained that Ruby accidentally dropped the Relic down the well and that she and her team went down there to retrieve it, so none of us were concerned about RWBY, but when we pointed out Maria was missing and even Oscar didn't know where she went… we knew something was up. Fortunately, or unfortunately, now that I think about it, we didn't have to wait long to figure out what was going on. Within just a few moments of us thinking about following RWBY down the well to see if Maria somehow went down there with them, Yang and Blake came rushing out of the house. Before any of us could even _think_ to ask what had them so panicked, Ruby and Weiss came out with Qrow in tow, and Yang was telling us that we had to leave right then. As Qrow got out of the way of the house's hallway, I noticed Lux lagging behind and staring into the house, looking pale as a stone, before he suddenly half-dragged me and the team onto the flatbed before I could ask what had him looking as spooked as RWBY.

As I've just recently found out, Lux (thanks eagle eyes!) caught an uncomfortably detailed look at the Apathy that were _burning alive_ thanks to Weiss setting the farm on fire to keep them from escaping; and, according to RWBY's run-in with them, and Maria's account of how Brunswick Farms fell apart thanks to her reading the owner's journal, I can only imagine just how disturbing that was for him to see. Luckily, Lux seems to be recovering now that we're putting some distance between us and the farms, but I'll have to wait and see if he's not just putting on a brave face for the team. In the meantime, at least Maria's been kind enough to give us some time to decompress before she shares with us her history with her eyes.

Evidently, Maria knows a lot about Ruby's silver eyes – which apparently saved her team down in the well from the Apathy – because she had silver eyes herself. Although I'm not looking forward to hearing about how someone else lost their eyes, for obvious reasons, I am happy to hear that the mystery behind Ruby's is finally going to be explained; or at least, I'm hoping it will be, with Maria around to tell us more about them. In the meantime, I think it'd be better for me to distract myself by comforting Lux than dwell on the imminent reveal of how Maria lost her eyes. After all, it can't be too much worse than losing your eye to an Alpha Beowolf when you're 15 and utterly helpless, right?

* * *

Argus at Last:

Ok, so… first thing's first – I was wrong. Apparently losing your eyes _can_ get a lot worse than just losing one of them because of some heartless, mindless Grimm. As it turns out, Maria Calavera didn't lose her eyes due to some fluke Grimm or random accident. Oh no, she lost them to some psychopath of a Faunus girl that I can only guess worked for Salem. Why? Not only do silver eyes seem to be something Salem wants her cronies to kill for, since they're a massive threat, but Maria was also a living legend that Salem needed to have taken out. All this time, we'd all been sitting in the presence of the Grimm Reaper. The very epitome of what it meant to be a hero who stood tall against the Grimm traveling with us and none of us even realized…

Still, I think Sanzang, Pigsy, and Sandy are cooler. I mean, sure the Grimm Reaper was a legend but… the inner council just had that humble and approachable attitude around them that I think the hype and mystique of Maria during her glory days can't match. That having been said, I think I might be biased – Sandy saving my life, Sanzang helping me recover after I lost my eye, all the things they did for my clan back in the day… yeah, I don't think I'm the best at objectively judging who's the better living legend with all that in mind. Anyway! Back to Maria Calavera!

After Maria told us what happened and Qrow got done gushing about meeting his childhood hero, I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't expecting Maria to still be beating herself up about not jumping back into the fray when she got her prosthetic eyes. I mean, sure, I could understand being frustrated with yourself for only looking out for your own safety for so long, but… I guess I just didn't realize how strong Maria saw Yang and I until she complimented us on "being up to the task of inheriting this world." Considering I lost my eye well over 3 years ago now, and Yang seems to have been back in fighting shape for some time, I suppose I just didn't realize how much strength me and Yang must've had to keep going after everything we've gone through. Having Maria of all people looking up at us for what we've gone through and still found the will to keep going… sorta had me and Yang at a loss for words; at least, until Maria decided to joke about how she got the short end of the stick in terms of prosthetics. I mean, I know my parents went through a living nightmare to get me such a good-looking eye, but still! I didn't exactly expect Maria to be back to joking around right after telling us how she lost both of hers!

At least I didn't have to deal with her leaning in and inspecting my eye for long though. Seriously, with how close she was to my eye, I was half-expecting her to ask me to pop it out or something, so she could examine it in detail. Lucky me, Ruby saved me when she chimed in to ask her if she'd be willing to teach her how to use her silver eyes. Unfortunately for Ruby, Maria never got the chance to answer. Why? Because we were finally in range of Argus' relay tower, and Jaune called us from in the city! I don't think words can express how relieved everyone felt to be somewhere safe again – heck, I saw Lux charge towards Jaune so fast that he nearly tackled the poor guy.

Since then, we've found a place to stay in the form of Jaune's sister's place, and everyone's finally able to rest easy. I know we were only away from JNPR for two days and all, but still, with how much has been going on, I don't think I can blame Jaune for getting all teary-eyed when he finally had a moment to thank us for showing up in one piece. Not only that, but I think Jaune's extra happy at the fact I'm around to bail him out of Nora and Saffron's teasing when Pyrrha isn't around to back him up. Being an only child, I can only imagine what a nightmare it must be for Jaune to be the only guy in his family all these years… but I digress. JNPR, RWBY, and Iridescence are back together again, Tenebris is cooking up a storm of subs, we're all gonna finally get a good night's rest without the fear of Grimm, and will hopefully be well on our way to Atlas by this time tomorrow. I know that Atlas' military base here is being difficult according to Jaune, but with Weiss and Qrow around, I'm holding out hope that we'll be able to get the Relic to safety before long. In the meantime, there's food to be eaten, and relaxation to be had – and I'm more than looking forward to it.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Welp… ya know how I once said the Nuckelavee was the most disturbing Grimm? I think that The Apathy give it a run for its money – and I think I don't need to explain why. What I will explain is why Iridescence bumbled off on patrol instead of sticking around. While it is true Apathy seem to drain your will to continue, everyone – even Yang, Weiss, and Blake – seemed to be more than ready to roll out as planned when they woke up, suggesting that despite Apathy draining you, your ability to carry out plans goes unhindered. With that in mind, and the Relic attracting Grimm tidbit seemingly forgotten, I decided to give that plot point some weight via Grimm being slowly attracted to it, like they were explicitly told to – but never really shown to.**

 **As for the second entry? I think it speaks for itself. Maria has a lot in common with Yang and Opal and thus might admire their strength where she failed to continue fighting, the two of them would probably both realize this and be at a loss for words, and Maria – ever the slightly comedic grandma she is – would probably wind up half-heartedly scolding Opal over how she got such a nice replacement where hers are mere goggles. Oh, and I wanted to fit in a hint of Aurora and Pyrrha's dynamic being a friendship born of being the background powerhouses/heart-and-souls of their teams, but… couldn't quite fit that in there, sadly.**

 **Oh,** **and just a head's up for everyone that loves Neo as much as I do – she probably isn't coming back. Why? Well... Cinder's dead, which was her primary motivation for getting justice for Torchwick's death, yeah? You could say Neo would've just hunted down Ruby or Opal anyway without a certain evil Maiden to blame, but here's the thing. While Neo is undoubtedly not a good person, I don't quite think that in the aftermath of blowing up Opal's parents (as the intended result of her trying to make a distraction or no) she would feel anything but immense guilt for what happened. Not only that, but I think that even if Neo bumped into Emerald and was 'informed' why they were going after Ruby, Opal, and co. that she would probably back down. Not only is Emerald a far more emotionally volatile Maiden than Cinder, but in my mind the last thing Neo would want to do is run back into the girl whose parents she got killed. Remember – Neo's a criminal, sure, but not an insurgent loyal to Salem's 'delete humanity' plot. She's still human, and as such I don't think she'd be game for putting her life on the line against someone she** _ **knows**_ **would be out for blood.**


	20. Dead End, Lost (and Found), & To Solitas

Dead End:

All things considered, our visit to Atlas' base could've gone worse – even though that isn't saying much. While I was expecting Atlas to be difficult, considering everything Weiss has said about them, I didn't expect to meet someone like… Cordovin. Short as Maria with an ego and level of nationalism I can only imagine would've been great during the Great War, Cordovin was the epitome of the 'Atlesian attitude' towards others. I could've dealt with her being the most holier-than-thou leader this side of Anima if we were allowed passage to Atlas, but that'd be too easy, I suppose. No, even with Weiss Schnee with us, Cordovin refused to let us through because of the closed borders Atlas has set up.

Seeing as Cordovin seemed two steps away from exploding when she saw JNPR behind us (seriously, how can someone who holds a grudge against Huntsmen-in-training become a leader of an Atlesian base?), we were about to leave when she saw fit to top off our unproductive trip with one wonderful final comment. She told us that she would let Weiss through if she'd "come to her senses" – which in of itself is something we'd never even consider doing – but no one else, on account of the rest of us having "questionable character," all the while glaring at me, Lux, and Blake. So, not only did that part of our trip end with us being no closer to Atlas than we were yesterday, but the three of us got to be dismissed as borderline-criminal just for being Faunus. Even though it didn't really phase any of us, especially after Weiss came to our defense, the reminder of Atlas' attitude towards us was just rubbing salt in the wound – no matter what we've been doing to protect the world from Salem.

So, while Qrow was sulking off to drink like he's been doing the past few days, we had to deal with _another_ wonderful development. Pyrrha was the first to propose that since we still have Ozpin with us, that we should probably ask him what our next move should be. It wouldn't have been a bad idea if he was still around, but… we then had to fill JNPR in on what Jinn told us, and they took it about as well as any of us could expect. Nora and Ren felt as manipulated as the rest of us did, Pyrrha was crestfallen that her near-sacrifice back at the fall of Beacon was for nothing, and Jaune? Well, Jaune's always been the most emotional of his team, sure, but I didn't expect him to give Oscar a death glare and tell him to shut up when he tried to diffuse the situation. I know it could've been worse – he could've attacked Oscar or something because of how Ozpin nearly got Pyrrha killed at Beacon, even if it was indirectly – but still… I felt bad seeing Oscar taking the brunt of everyone's frustrations all over again for something that was entirely out of his control. At least Jaune was level-headed enough to separate JNPR from the situation once he realized he and his team needed some time to think.

After a solid hour or two of nothing important happening, unless Lux and I talking to Blake about how 'fun' it would be to go to Atlas counts, everyone banded together at Tenebris' suggestion to go shopping for dinner. I don't know if he knew I was looking for a chance to talk to Jaune one-on-one or if he was just hungry, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. Once Pyrrha and Jaune said their goodbyes and she was out the door, him and I finally had a moment to talk. I never really considered myself anything more than just a good friend to him, but as we got to discussing Ozpin and Salem, I felt like I was something more than just a meditation partner to him when I pointed out us doing nothing is the same as just handing Salem the world on a silver platter.

While it was clear Jaune was still angry about how Ozpin's had us put our lives on the line for nothing, he was at least able to agree with my line of reasoning. It was a bright spot in an otherwise annoying and draining day, and my hope is that whatever Tenebris can whip up later will brighten up everyone's moods. Saffron and Terra seemed eager to put his skills to the test, at any rate. Anyway, all that's left now is to wait for everyone to get home, and hopefully Jaune will be able to convince Ren and Nora to keep going like the rest of us. I know for a fact that Pyrrha isn't about to throw in the towel when things look impossible – I mean, she did go toe-to-toe with _Cinder_ at the fall of Beacon – but Ren and Nora still seemed almost as frustrated when they left as they did when they first found out about Ozpin's past. Here's to hoping RNJR can work things out before Oscar feels like he's being turned into everyone's punching bag. If not for themselves, then for his sake.

* * *

Lost (and Found):

In retrospect, I _probably_ should've seen how Oscar was doing before I busied myself talking to Blake or Jaune, but I guess with how quiet he always is, the idea just slipped my mind. So, I don't think it could've been two hours after everyone left to get food that Jaune and I heard some commotion downstairs and, of course, we went to investigate. As it turns out, Ruby and Maria also stayed behind while everyone was out, but that's the least important thing we discovered. What was important though was that, while everyone was off doing their own thing, Oscar had slipped away without any of us noticing – and no one could find him. Since it wasn't hard to assume that with how JNPR reacted concerning Ozpin, Oscar might've felt like he didn't belong anymore, we all assumed the worst and set out into Argus in search of him.

JNPR, RWBY, and my team all split to try and find him, but even with Lux's eyes and everyone else's scanning the city, we came up with nothing by the time we had to head back to Saffron's to check in with everyone. As it turns out… Oscar never went missing, and we just spent the better part of our day on a wild goose chase. Evidently, Oscar just wanted to give everyone some space and time to think like the rest of us, and he went out to go get some new combat gear to pass the time. Granted, Aurora did predict that Oscar might've been doing just that, but with how hectic life has been the past few weeks, I don't think assuming he was in trouble was the worst thing we could've done.

After dragging Qrow back indoors, since he was drunk off his horse and all, Oscar got to explaining what he was up to and how although he was hurt at first with how JNPR reacted, he did understand that their anger wasn't truly directed at him. So, after fighting the urge to roll my eyes at how smug Aurora looked that her theory was true, things started to look like it was uphill from there with how Oscar was talking about how he wanted to help for as long as he was "still himself" – referring to merging souls with Ozpin and all. Then, of course, Qrow had to be the pessimist he's always been for the past few days and point out how we still were no closer to Atlas than we were before, and immediately shot down Jaune's suggestion that we could steal an Atlesian airship before he had a chance to explain himself.

Thankfully, Ruby said what we were all thinking – that there was no other option, that we've been able to get through tough situations alone before, and that Qrow's welcome to stay behind or stick with us no matter what happens next. So, while Qrow was mulling over how much of a fool he's been for the past few days, the rest of us got to talking about who was in support of Jaune's plan. RNJR was obviously in support of it from go, Ruby managed to convince Weiss and Blake without much fuss, and Iridescence? I'm glad to say we were all on the same page from the moment we heard Jaune's idea. I don't really care about offending Atlas since the world's on the line (and they can't hate me for being a Faunus any more than they already do), Lux thinks he can fly the thing thanks to some of his familiarity with Atlas tech through Tenebris' armor, Tenebris sees no other option, and Aurora… well, she only begrudgingly agreed since there's probably a _lot_ that can go wrong. I wasn't about to disagree, but a lot could've gone wrong at Haven, but we made it out of that, so… I like to think we'll be fine.

But, before we get around to discussing the details, there's food to make – or rather, make again. Oscar was making a casserole before we got back but… in the middle of our conversation it all went bad, and now it's up to him and Tenebris to start all over once everyone's done cleaning up the mess. As for me? I think enjoying the sunset in peace with Lux before we all put our lives on the line against Atlas' resident jerk of a special operative is the least we could do to prepare ourselves for tomorrow. While I'm sure we'll be able to come up with a pretty comprehensive plan, it's still the Atlesian Military we're talking about stealing from here – so I'm not gonna assume we're getting out of Argus without seeing at least _some_ action. But who knows? I've been surprised before.

* * *

To Solitas:

Today was… well, it certainly could've gone worse. So, I suppose Jaune's plan would be a good place to start jotting down my thoughts after all's been said and done. It was a solid plan too; stuff Maria into Weiss' bag to help her stowaway onto a ship of Cordovin's, have Maria take control of the airship and pick everyone up a few miles out from Argus, and have Blake and I shut down the relay tower to prevent our theft from being detected. It would've worked flawlessly if it wasn't for a _small_ setback me and Blake ran into, but at least it still _did_ work out – for the most part – in the end. We're all alive, at least, which can never be a bad thing considering what almost happened to Pyrrha and I back at Beacon.

So far as I'm aware, as Blake and I were being dropped off by Yang to shut down the relay tower, Weiss' end of the mission wasn't meeting any trouble – but that didn't stop everything from nearly going wrong on our end of things. Blake and I were supposed to have no issues infiltrating Atlas' security, what with our stealth and the fact Blake's already disabled Atlas security before during her White Fang days, but neither of us could anticipate that _Adam Taurus_ would be waiting for us there. It was clear when he saw me behind Blake that this wasn't the situation he wanted to fight Blake in, what with it being two-on-one, but I suppose with us bordering on escaping to Atlas, he had no more choice to wait and try to ambush her. We may have been stealing from Atlas to get across the sea, but that didn't mean Adam trying to get there himself would be any easier for him than it's been for us. Regardless, with everything and everyone's safety at stake, I made a split-second gamble of a decision that we're all lucky didn't result in one of us dying – I decided to stall for time by fighting him.

Blake was having none of it at first, which I could understand given how Adam was after _her_ , but it wasn't like we had any other options. By the time I would've figured out how to bypass Atlas' security, it'd probably have been too late for us to get out of Argus undetected, and who _knows_ what kind of mess that could've turned into if Cordovin figured us out. So, after begging Blake to go and her telling me how Adam's Semblance was like Yang's but worked through his sword, it was time for me and Adam to square off. I once wrote down from back at Haven that I almost looked forward to fighting Adam again, what with how we both practice iaijutsu in some way. Once we started fighting though, I realized I should've never wished for that to happen.

We may have shared a fighting style, but beyond that, we were polar opposites. Where I was controlled in using my Semblance and I used it sparingly, Adam used his like it was as simple as pulling the trigger on his rifle. I may have trained with my team before Haven and stood my ground against him then, but… something must've been going on in his head that made him lose his way, because the Adam Taurus I fought today was an entirely different person. It was like fighting a wild animal that'd honed its strength into a single, perfectly fluid fighting style, and combine his skill with his Semblance rendering every one of my strikes against him moot, and I'm considering myself lucky I didn't lose a limb.

Even with my ascended state, all I could do was try to match his speed, dodge, and use some grapple arrows to keep myself on the tower whenever he'd send me flying, even through my blocks, with his Semblance. In fact, my amped-up offense might've very well fed into his enough to turn our fight into nothing but a desperate attempt for me to buy Blake time – but what could I do? It was either me trying to buy time and hope everyone else would pick up on the fact we were in trouble, or put everyone in jeopardy by failing to shut down the tower. That having been said, it wasn't Adam's offense and speed matching mine that nearly cost me everything.

I didn't buy into Adam's mind games when we were fighting, but I think that only led him to try even harder to unhinge me. After what happened to my parents and with Cinder, I didn't think anything could phase me, but nothing could prepare a Faunus for what Adam showed me. He removed his blindfold and showed me not a scar, but a brand over his eye made by the _Schnee Dust Company_. He told me that Atlas won't be any safer for us than anywhere else has been, and that his scar is proof of what humanity does "to people like us," and for the split second that I was taken aback by his reveal, he went on the offensive. Before I could even refocus myself on the fight, he already pushed me so far onto the backfoot that he broke straight through my Aura. I should've called it quits there, I should have not tried anything stupid, but I didn't know if Blake was done at the top of the tower, and so what did I do? I continued fighting anyway.

As it turns out, my Semblance was the only thing that let me keep up with Adam. It couldn't have been more than a few dozen seconds before he overpowered me, and if it wasn't for Blake, I'd probably be dead. She finished taking down the relay's radar just in time to dive in and deflect Adam's swipe at me, and even though his Semblance still managed to clip me in the side, it was better than what would've happened if he hit me head-on. I don't know if what was running through Blake's mind when she saw I was down, but whatever the case may be, as soon as she realized she wasn't going to be able to overcome Adam, she ran off to lure him into the forest.

Thankfully, before I could bleed out, Yang came running after she realized me and Blake were taking too long for things to have been going according to plan. I swear to the gods I've never been so thankful to see someone come right in time to save my life since, well… ever really. Every time I've ever been hurt badly I either had an eye sliced out or was stabbed in the gut, and in both cases I passed out, but I digress. After Yang called Ruby and told her to bring Jaune over to save me, I told her what happened, and before I could even tell her about Adam's Semblance like Blake did to me, she was riding on Bumblebee into the woods.

Needless to say, Ruby and everyone made it to me before it was too late, and Jaune was able to save me. Even though I now have a wicked scar on my abdomen that's probably going to be there for the rest of my life, at least I'm alive to tell about it and able to try and avoid scaring Lux and the rest of my team like that ever again. By the time we caught up with Yang and Blake, I was expecting everyone else to route Adam so that we could capture him or something but… he was gone. Whatever happened that forced Yang and Blake to _kill_ him, I don't know, but I'm just glad that it was him and not them. Even if I do have a deep pit in my stomach now that we're headed to where Adam was _branded_ for being a Faunus, I'm going to hold out hope that we'll be able to make sure the Relic's safe before long. What's more, I'm going to make sure Blake, Yang and I keep Adam's brand to ourselves – Weiss has enough stress on her plate returning to Atlas to be worrying about how her family's company might've been responsible, at least in part, for what Adam turned into. This may have been a bumpy ride, and we don't even have Ozpin with us anymore to talk to Ironwood, but at least we're going to get to Atlas in one piece.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **I know I could've made Cordovin into Winter since it's my fic (and who doesn't love Winter?) but… for some reason, despite her clear racism (speciesism?) I absolutely ADORE Cordovin's character. She's an interesting foil to Maria, hilariously over-the-top, and well… if it was Winter… that'd be one cheap way of ending Volume 6 of ToTI early, right?**

 **Also, is it just me or did the episode 'Lost' confirm Pyrrha as more of a lynchpin of JNPR than even Jaune? Like, in my eyes, even though her survival would render Jaune's reaction to Ozpin's past a tad less… violent towards Oscar (since Jaune isn't half-venting at Oscar for how Ozpin got Pyrrha killed), I think he'd still be angry for the same reasons RWBY and Iridescence were. Not only does** _ **he**_ **feel manipulated, but he feels like the lives of those he loves were needlessly nearly lost for nothing. You can be the most level-headed person on Remnant, but finding out your girlfriend nearly died for nothing? Yeah… I think anyone would be peeved about that.**

 **And lastly… real talk? I liked Volume 6 a lot. Is that a contrarian's opinion? I hope not. The first half of the season, what with the Apathy and the almost mythological pacing of Ozpin's past being revealed and handled by RWBY was absolutely wonderful – even if Cinder had to show her dumb face again. Man what a menacing villai- zzz… But aside from that gripe, I will be the first to admit that towards the end… ouch. From Oscar once again getting shafted in terms of character development to RWBY and co. committing treason (or just in Weiss' case) because 'they're the good guys,' slowly turning into Ozpin themselves in so doing.**

 **At first, I thought about keeping things mostly the same in terms of Cordovin discovering things and fighting the teams and all, but then I realized how abysmally dumb and kinda pointless the entire finale fight was. I was 'ok' with Adam's fight insofar as it was cool, even though it** _ **murdered**_ **his character literally and figuratively, but Cordovin's was utterly pointless, and come on! RWBY and JNR were the villain in that scenario, right?! I'm not the only one who sees this? Sigh. Regardless, despite all of its flaws I think it's one of the better seasons out there. Well above V4 and V5, but still considerably below V2, V3, and V1 of the Monty Era. Anywho! What a ride eh? Wonder where the story will go now that Salem's** _ **doing something for once after 6 years of RWBY being spent sitting at a table.**_


	21. Volume 7 - The Greatest Kingdom

As Opal finished up the latest entry of her journal and snapped it shut as she had so many times before, somehow the familiar _click_ it let out as she closed it felt as though it possessed more finality than any of the previous times she had done so before. Granted, with the completion of the entry she had just written, she'd completely chronicled the horrors she'd gone through when she had elected to face Adam Taurus _alone_ to buy Blake time to deactivate Argus' communications tower, but she felt… off, somehow. Perhaps it was due to how no mere journal entry could suffice to convey the discomfort she felt as her Aura worked to make the pain in the scar Adam had given her fade away, though it was equally as likely that the completion of the entry carried with it no small amount of catharsis now that she'd been able to write the burden of recent events out of her mind.

Not that the memories would ever truly fade. Life on Remnant would be far too easy if such traumatizing events were so easily forgotten by those who managed to live through them.

The thin few sheets of steel separating Opal from the cold ocean below lurched somewhat as Maria adjusted the gang's 'borrowed' Atlesian airship into cruising speed. Her feline ears twitched as they picked up on the minute sound of the flow of dust powering the airship's engines intensify to meet the demands of the craft's pilot and took in a deep breath shortly thereafter. It was then that she turned her attention away from the well-worn leather of her journal back up toward the rest of the craft.

It appeared as though each of the three teams contained in their group had taken to their own corners of the ship while her attention had been elsewhere. It may not have been all that large of a craft – one big room in the center, a cockpit in the front, and a cargo bay in the back which anyone could use to change in privacy if need be – but it was big enough. With how many people had been crammed inside the airship, and with her ears, Opal was almost shocked at how quiet the airship was aside from the constant hum of its engines all around them. With nothing better to do with her time as they flew over an ocean, she decided to give everyone she'd spent the last few months with nonstop the once-over.

JNPR was further toward the cargo bay than anyone else and, surprisingly, the only real source of any sound stemming from any individual's activity on the ship. Jaune and Pyrrha were sequestered to Nora's right and directly next to the thin steel wall that separated the main portion of the ship from the cargo bay, and both were sound asleep as they leaned up against one another's shoulders for support. Nora had her knees tucked up to her chest and had whipped out her scroll to play some kind of game to pass the time, causing an only slightly distracting amount of noise every now and again as she presumably ran into some difficulty in whatever it was she was playing. Ren was the only one of their group that remained on his feet, though he leaned up against the wall of the ship to relax as he silently looked down upon his team with an appreciative, yet almost invisible smile on his face.

Oscar was in the corner across from them. Opal didn't have much of a mind to try and analyze what was going through the head of the boy who served as Ozma's latest host, but she thought it was worth noticing that he didn't look particularly perturbed. Rather, he merely appeared to be in a thoughtful state of mind, Ozpin's collapsed cane in his lap as he stared neutrally at it.

RWBY could be found in the middle of the ship, nearby the sliding doors but still far enough ahead of them so that they could take advantage of the seats the ship provided. There weren't many, and most of them were attached from in front of the sliding doors on toward the cockpit, but there were enough. Ruby wasn't present to make any use of the seats at the moment though, as she was currently in the cockpit with Qrow and Maria discussing something Opal didn't want to train her ears to eavesdrop on. Yang and Blake were sitting sideways in their seats so that they could lean up against each other's backs, and both of them had their eyes focused blankly on the sky outside through their respective windows. Weiss had perhaps the pronounced air about her out of anyone on their team, with her typical perfect posture having been replaced by an almost demure and depressed slouch mounting in her shoulders.

With the destination they were headed for in mind, Opal couldn't help but feel for her unfortunate situation. Weiss had fought desperately to escape her father's iron grip again after he'd come to take her home when Beacon fell, and not even a few months later she was on her way back there – all for the sake of a surreal war that she hadn't even known existed up until long after she'd escaped in the first place. Sometimes Opal couldn't believe it herself, the vast secrets and scale of Remnant's state of being that no one but their group had been made aware of, but she needed only to think of all she'd been through to convince herself that it all _was_ real. For better or for worse.

Mostly worse, though.

Nevertheless, with two teams, Oscar, and a pair of adults accounted for, Opal was left with only one more group to look over – her team, Iridescence. She had sat herself down in the corner of the ship nearest to the cockpit on the floor for the sake of privacy as she wrote in her journal. Lux was in the seat nearest to her with a gap between him and Tenebris, who then in turn was right next to Aurora. Tenebris was merely lounging back using Boomstick as a footrest while he stared off blankly in thought while Aurora had rested her forehead on the shaft of Sapphire, her closed eyes indicating that she was either merely resting or in the middle of prayer while she had a quiet moment to do so.

She'd only known two of her teammates since the start of her brief time spent at Beacon, but she couldn't deny that to call them anything less than family at this point would be an outright lie. The number of times they'd made her laugh, acted as an outlet for her frustrations, or worked to help her cry in catharsis after her parents' untimely deaths in of itself would have been enough for Opal to have called them family even if they weren't on the same team. But as fate would have it, they were, and Opal found herself indescribably grateful that they'd all come into her life. Aurora had been her only companion and sparring partner her age before they left for Vale, Tenebris was larger-than-life with a heart to match, and Lux was simultaneously the love of her life and the bane of her existence insofar as his and his twin brother's Vacuan sense of humor was concerned.

Each of their personalities and her own combined, and although Opal may have wanted to tear out her hair when they had first been put on the same team, she wouldn't give up the dynamic they shared now for the world.

"So, do you mind explaining to me why you feel the need to sit on the floor after you were slashed in the side, like, an hour ago?" Lux asked.

Opal felt her lips tug up into a smile. Lux may have been the most concerned out of anyone on her team as to her health when Jaune had started working to save her, but that certainly didn't stop him from regaining his former composure before long. An absentminded hand of hers wandered to the bandages around where her new scar was bound to form, and she looked up at him to respond.

"Well, _you've_ read my journal, so I think you'd probably be able to understand why I'd want a modicum of privacy while I wrote my thoughts down on paper," she answered, and she held her journal a bit closer to her chest. "Not everything I have to put in my journal is sunshine and roses. Or… clean, in some regards."

"Fair point, fair point…" Lux conceded, and he extended a hand, which Opal quickly took to hoist herself to her feet and sit down in the seat separating him from his brother. "But about your journal not being 'clean' – what, have you gone ahead and written some mushy poems or some smut about me after I got into it?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "You wish."

It was as Opal bent over to grab the bag beneath her seat and was stuffing her journal back amongst her other things that Tenebris joined the conversation. "Yeah, not gonna lie Lux, I don't think you should be expecting Opal to be doing that kind of stuff. Keeping a journal in the first place is probably about as close to 'girly' as she's ever gonna get."

He didn't even need to look at her to catch the punch Opal aimed at his face in indignant retribution. When he released her hand after a moment of halfhearted struggle on her part, Opal tried and failed to feign anger as Tenebris chuckled. "What do you mean by that? I _wore a dress_ to the Beacon Dance, you jerk! If I didn't have a feminine bone in my body, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be caught _dead_ doing that sort of thing, first date with Lux or not."

Aurora tilted her head in their direction, and she opened her eyes out of her prior peaceful state to throw her hat into the ring. "Besides, I do remember you and Lux both mentioning that Opal and I looked good in our dresses, too."

Tenebris huffed in mock irritation. "Okay, literally _one time_ aside, my point still stands. I think the girliest this team gets is from Aurora, and that's all because she's acts like a mom to the rest of us sometimes."

"Be that as it may – which, for the record, I don't think is quite the case – your definition of what 'girly' means might be in need of an update," Opal argued. "All because I don't run into battle wearing a skirt, high heels, and tons of makeup doesn't mean I'm not feminine, just like how you being good at cooking doesn't make you any less masculine as a result."

Aurora sat up a bit straighter. "I second that notion."

"Consider me a third, then," Lux added. "Traditional ideas of gender roles are bullshit, anyway."

"Fair enough… I concede," Tenebris admitted.

With little more than a wave of his hand after that, the team's conversation appeared to have ended. Opal didn't pay much attention to what Lux and Tenebris decided to talk about after that point, since she sort of tuned them out entirely when she realized they were about to enter another endless debate between each other over the practicality of the 'combat skirts.' Many Huntresses-in-training seemed to favor them in Vale for some reason or another, and one needed only look so far as RWBY or JNPR to see that it was a trend that even their gang wasn't immune to. At least Opal was able to find solace in the fact that she and Aurora were proud enough of their bodies that they decided to wear pants and armor instead of skirts and… short shorts, in Yang's case, way back in Vale. Maybe it was the fact that Aurora and Opal had been raised in Mistral, but Opal could never quite wrap her head around why some people seemed so averse to wearing practical outfits where their fighting ability was concerned.

Then again, Aura existed, so what people decided to wear into combat was somewhat of a moot point… up until their protective barrier broke, and they were left open to very-lethal levels of harm if they ended up getting hit again. Aurora had only survived at the battle of Haven in part because she wore armor, and Tenebris probably would've blown himself up ten times by now if his armor wasn't as robust as it turned out to be.

Before Opal could find herself accidentally plummeting any further down the rabbit hole she found herself in though, she thankfully spotted something that drew her attention outward again. The twins were still in the midst of their discussion about combat skirts when she noticed Aurora look away from them and back to Sapphire. Her expression turned pensive, as if she had something on her mind but had decided to hold in whatever it was that was bothering her rather than sully the mood with whatever she had to say.

Seeing as she had nothing to do now that she'd finished writing in her journal, Opal saw fit to investigate the issue.

"Aurora?" she gently asked.

Her blue hair fell slightly in front of her face as Aurora turned to face her. She then brushed it back behind her ear with one hand while her other remained firm on her weapon. "Yeah?"

"Is there something bothering you?" Opal added.

She pursed her lip a little before answering. "Yeah… a little bit."

The twins' conversation came to a sudden end and both their attention fell on Aurora. Lux was the first to speak, then. "Then what's up? Stressed?"

"That much is obvious," Aurora said with a joyless smirk. "I am though, yeah. More specifically, I'm _worried._ About you. About Opal. Blake, too."

"Because we're going to Atlas, and they're faunus," Tenebris guessed.

Aurora nodded solemnly. "I don't know if everything I've ever heard about what a lot of people in Atlas think of faunus is true or not, but I don't want to get there and see any of my friends suffer because of the circumstances of their birth."

"Not like open discrimination would be anything new to us, though." Opal sat back in her seat and stared at the ceiling emptily. "I might have avoided the worst of it in Mistral growing up because of my clan's prestige and place in society, but that doesn't mean I was entirely unaffected by people who hate faunus in the past. Then when we got to Vale…"

"It was like a whole different ball game, yeah," Lux finished. "Back in Vacuo, it's the rule of cool and the strength to survive that makes the world go 'round, so people don't care if you're faunus or not. In Vale, though… everyone likes to pretend it's all sunshine and rainbows with the faunus back there, but there were still more than enough douchebags back there that you'd lose track if you tried to count them all. Cardin's an obvious example since we had classes with the guy, but there were others, too. Thankfully we didn't run into too many of them when we went out sometimes, but still."

"Which is why I'm worried about Atlas," Aurora murmured. "Vacuo's rough-and-tumble and barely qualifies as a kingdom in some ways, but from what I understand, the faunus that manage to live there are at least treated with respect. Vale tries to be the most gallant and 'good' of the three more civil kingdoms, but so often turns a blind eye to inflammatory insults and other mild displays of hatred. Mistral's perception of faunus may have improved after the battle at Haven, but that doesn't instantly erase the centuries of financial and social oppression they placed upon anyone with even so much as a pair of fangs. Atlas… I've heard that faunus can be detained or even _beaten_ for the most minor of infractions, and yet here we are in a stolen Atlesian airship, about to break the law again to cross their borders. Even if we're doing it for a good reason, if anyone sees that we have faunus among us… I don't know if they'd be willing to hear out our reasoning for doing what we did, at that point."

"Well, if anyone tries anything while we're down there, we'll have each other's backs," Tenebris firmly stated. "We always have, and we always will. Some anti-faunus assholes who think they can screw with a bunch of Huntsmen-in-training because their friends have cat ears and eagle eyes might have to learn the hard way that their bullshit won't fly with us."

"Tenebris." Lux reached slightly over Opal to place his hand on his shoulder. "I get where you're coming from, and I appreciate it, but you might want to dial it back before you do something you'll regret. I don't like bigots who hate faunus as much as the next guy, but I don't think we should have that kind of attitude going into Atlas. They're still citizens of a sovereign kingdom we have no right to dole out justice to all because we don't like what they think of faunus. We agreed to protect people even as arrogant as them when we signed up to become Huntsmen."

"Yeah… I guess you're right," Tenebris admitted. "I'll try not to beat any assholes to a pulp if we come across them, but I'm not going to go ahead and take things sitting down if they decide to pick on you guys. That's not me."

"We know, and we appreciate that. You've got a big heart under all that armor and muscle of yours, and it's something that I think everyone here finds more than a little endearing about you," Opal complimented, and she tapped her knuckles against the armor over Tenebris' chest as if to emphasize her point. She then lowered her hand and looked at Aurora again, a small smile on her face to try and reassure her teammate that she was in high spirits despite the topic of their current discussion. "So while we're not going to head into Atlas and pretend that everything's fine for the faunus there and we won't be bothered if we are picked on, what we _will_ do is deal with whatever we have to if and when we have to deal with it. Sound good?"

Aurora sighed in relief. "As long as you and Lux are okay with what we're going to be walking into, I'll try my best to be okay with it too."

Tenebris shrugged. "I think I already made my stance on the matter clear."

"That you did," Lux said. "And I'm with Opal on this one. Big shocker, I know."

From the other side of the airship, Oscar's eyes finally rose from his collapsed cane up to Iridescence. Having caught their attention, he hesitated to say anything only briefly before he placed his hand absentmindedly on his collapsed cane and appeared to calm down enough to speak shortly thereafter. "If it makes any of you guys feel better about any of this, as the next Ozpin, I do want to apologize on his behalf for what the faunus have had to go through. No one should ever have to face what the faunus have because of the things they could never hope to control about themselves, and your people deserve much better than what they've been able to fight for in recent times."

Blake stirred next. "Well, things could get better _now_ if Ozpin just came back."

Yang stiffened from her position pressed up against Blake's back, but didn't move. Her features scrunched up slightly in an odd mix of confusion and frustration. "Why would you _want_ Oz to come back? I thought that you'd be the angriest out of anyone here at him because of how he did jack squat for the faunus when he totally had the power to – sorry, Weiss."

Somehow, it looked like Weiss managed to shrink in on herself even further. "None taken…"

"But there's no denying that he's aware of the issue now," Blake calmly argued. "Indirectly he might be responsible for… for how Adam turned out, but none of us have the right to say that if we get him on our side that we can't-"

"Change things for the faunus?" Tenebris guessed. "Honestly, Blake, your parents and their little part of the White Fang they rallied together changed things for the faunus just fine back in Mistral – _without_ Ozpin's help. If he wants to help us out when it comes to Salem, great. The faunus…?" he looked at Lux.

Lux nodded in silent agreement. "Not so much. We can do that ourselves."

"What if he _did_ come back, though? Someday?" Oscar asked.

"Then that's another ally we have back on our side in the fight ahead," Opal said.

Off to the side, Ren's voice drew everyone's attention momentarily to the back of the airship. "I agree with Opal on this matter. When united, a team of trained fighters is much more effective with all of its members included than it is with one they merely dislike. So long as that lost ally isn't one with malicious intent, in a battle with stakes as high as the war we find ourselves involved in, we need all the help we can get."

Aurora collapsed Sapphire from its naginata form back into an assault rifle and sighed in relief as she set it on the floor. "I'll stay on the same page as you guys when it comes to the faunus then, Opal. Whatever happens, know that I'll have your back, as always."

A warm smile in thanks acted as Opal's initial response. "And I thank you for being willing to do that, Aurora. Really."

"Both of us do," Lux added.

With no further topic of conversation in particular at hand and the minor unease Aurora's concerns had placed upon everyone who overheard what was said, a companionable silence settled over the airship. Tenebris, Lux, and Aurora all relaxed in their seats in their respective ways, and Opal lost track of time as she leaned her head back against the wall and stare up at the ceiling to follow their example. That said, she knew that she couldn't have been in any sort of meditative bliss for too long though, since Weiss breaking said silence didn't startle her in the slightest.

"So…" Weiss idly started. "Qrow – when do you think we'll arrive in Atlas?"

Before any response could come out of the cockpit, Ruby emerged with Qrow's signature emblem-emblazoned flask in her hands and a smile on her face. She threw a small thumbs up over at her partner and happily made her way over to her bag to stuff it in with the rest of her belongings when Weiss spoke up again.

"Ruby, would you mind explaining to me why you have your hands on your uncle's flask, perchance?" she questioned. "I know for a fact that you're not even _close_ to drinking age, yet."

RWBY's leader plopped down next to Weiss after she finished re-zipping up her bag. "Oh, Uncle Qrow decided to stop drinking! Finally."

"That doesn't explain why you didn't just throw it out of the ship, then…"

"Hey, it's none of your business!" Qrow halfheartedly chastised. "But for the record, that thing's a family heirloom."

"After less than a generation?" Weiss deadpanned.

"Well, it'll be a family heirloom _someday._ Besides, I spent good lien on that thing – I'd much rather prefer that it doesn't end up a rusted piece of scrap at the bottom of the ocean," he explained. "And hey! Maybe someday Ruby or Yang will get a use out of it. You never know."

Weiss remained unconvinced, but Ruby shrugged noncommittally to bring her attention back to her. "He does have a point."

Weiss scoffed. "No, he doesn't! But… Qrow, would you _please_ answer my question, at least?"

"Sure! I dunno. I've always had a habit of uh… _flying alone._ "

Opal could almost hear the grin in his voice with that response. At least he had a sense of humor about having an unquantifiable amount of Ozpin's magic shoved into him at some point.

"Well, that was…" Weiss paused. "A completely useless answer…"

"Probably shoulda seen it coming, though," Yang argued.

"Don't encourage him!"

"If you're looking for a serious answer, think about six hours!" Maria hollered back at them. "If there's one thing I know, it's that this airship's engine is a study marvel of engineering. Doesn't matter if we got off to a rough start when we hijacked the thing – an entire ocean won't be an issue for a craft like this! If you want to catch some shuteye before we arrive in Atlas and are _possibly_ shot down on sight, I recommend you do so now."

Not a single pair of eyes out of everyone awake in the main room of the airship didn't slowly pivot toward the cockpit after that last comment. Sometimes it was hard to tell when Maria was joking… or if she ever joked around, to begin with.

"Well that's one way to wish everyone sweet dreams," Nora quipped.

* * *

For someone who possessed eagle eyes as their faunus trait, one would be surprised to hear that Lux _liked_ to close them whenever he had the chance. Indeed, the superb vision his eyes endowed him with was a blessing on and off the battlefield – there was no denying that – but at times, the ability to discern every detail of one's environment and companions' facial expressions at any given moment was somewhat draining. Lux had always heard from people with 'normal' vision that they envied him, and as a matter of fact, he felt the same toward them on occasion. He would never forfeit his faunus trait, of course, but sometimes he dreamt of what it would be like not to sometimes feel as though he could peer into someone's very soul if he stared at them hard enough. Tenebris, Opal, and Aurora often offered insightful perspectives into the simplicity of their vision in comparison to his, and so Lux spent their group's flight to Solitas with his eyes shut as he daydreamt of what their world looked like. Compared to the tumultuous time they all suffered through simply getting to Argus, let alone escaping the place, the lack of any visual stimuli in favor of the feeling of Opal lightly resting beside him was bliss.

But of course, that bliss had to end at some point.

"Alright everyone," Qrow called from the cockpit. "If you've never seen Atlas before, you might wanna come look at this."

Lux opened his eyes and looked to his left at Opal, whose feline ears' perceptiveness of sound had shaken her awake from her on his shoulder. Her eyes blearily blinked open, and she groggily shoved herself into sitting upright, not even needing to exchange words with Lux to know what he was about to say next.

"Go ahead…" She rubbed her eyes. "I know you want a good look."

"Thanks," Lux whispered in response. He placed a kiss beside one of Opal's fuzzy ears, ignoring the smug looks his brother and Aurora gave him as he did so. "Love you."

"You too," Opal returned, and then he stood.

His faunus trait was mentally taxing at times, yes, but it also offered him an appreciation for grand scale and beauty that no one that didn't have a similar trait to his could comprehend. He may have hated Atlas on principle due to its treatment of faunus, but it wasn't every day that he got to see the place that inspired Tenebris' armor in full view. As a result, it wasn't long before he found himself in the cockpit slightly behind Team RWBY, who'd gotten there before him.

"Is it weird that I'm sorta nervous?" Ruby asked.

"We're flying a hijacked airship into the single greatest military nation on Remnant's airspace, Ruby," Lux responded. "If you weren't, I'd be concerned."

"Yeah… I'll believe that we made it there when I see it," Yang mentioned.

Weiss smirked. "Well… believe it."

Clouds parted from in front of their line of sight as Maria steered the airship through the floating balls of cotton, and what Lux saw nearly took his breath away.

Perhaps a few miles away was the greatest technological marvel known to all of mankind. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions upon millions of tons of stone and steel in the shape of an island sat suspended in the air, and atop the artificial sky island sat the city of Atlas. Divided into several districts therein with small lakes and technologically augmented farmland, the place was self-sufficient and housed a population in the millions. Monolithic shield generating spires sat intermittently in progressively tighter rings throughout the blue and white districts of the city, mountain ranges at its back offered the island an almost picturesque look, and high-speed bullet trains encased in tubes of hard light added all the more credibility to the majesty of it all. On account of his eagle eyes, Lux could even make out the vague shapes of large advertising signs and some bullet trains in motion. The city of Atlas was alive, and beyond even Amity Colosseum in its technological grace.

If it didn't serve as the seat of power and capital of the kingdom that repressed and ravaged the lives of faunus so flagrantly, Lux would've been inclined to stare at it for an eternity as they drew closer – the smog of Mantle below be damned.

"Y'know… you make the trip up to Atlas over and over… but you never get used to that view," Maria fondly stated, only for her eyes to go haywire as she stared at the city. "Oh, _come on!_ "

On a whim, Lux looked up. "Wait… uh, Weiss?"

"I see it too," she said.

Ruby glanced at each of them. "What? What's going on- _oh…_ "

All eyes in the cockpit drifted upward. There laid the sole reason that Atlas was known as the sole military superpower on the planet.

The Atlas air fleet.

A single one of Atlas' airships was a sight that would make all but the strongest of souls quake in fear. Every one of the flying death machines was the size of skyscrapers placed on their sides and built for the singular purpose of war. Their crew numbered in the tens of thousands, fighters in the hundreds, and cannons and turrets of all kinds – each designed to swiftly dispatch the largest Grimm on the planet – numbered in the dozens. Add on layers of armor several meters thick and a propulsion system that allowed them to even outpace some of their seafaring equivalents of yesteryear and they were the stuff of nightmares for those who made an enemy of the city that had perched itself in the heavens.

One airship was enough to tear down small cities. Dozens hovered over Atlas.

"I knew our ships were all called back, but…" Weiss trailed off. "It looks like they're expecting an attack."

 _"Manta 5-1. Welcome Home,"_ an official-sounding yet feminine voice stated through the ship's radio. _"Please continue to Atlas docking bay Omega-12. A security team will meet you there for inspection and summary debriefing. Over."_

"I don't understand. What's happening here?" Ruby asked.

Qrow's inflection turned grim, his expression cautious. "I don't know."

"But we _are_ here," Jaune mentioned from the rear. "We got the lamp to Atlas, so… I guess we land and get some answers."

Lux turned around slightly. "I don't think so."

Aurora blinked. "Lux?"

"If they're positioned this aggressively, then I don't think they're going to take too kindly to us when they see us land in a stolen ship."

"Yeah…" Tenebris drawled out. "This isn't Vacuo, where getting your ride stolen is a daily thing. We need to be careful."

"Agreed," Maria quickly concurred. "We've been lucky enough not to get shot down as it is. I say we put some distance between us and them! At least thisway we'll be able to see our imminent deaths coming if they _do_ decide to open fire on us!"

Weiss sighed and pulled out her scroll. "Not quite the reasoning I was looking for, but okay. It keeps me away from my father and gives me time to call Winter – maybe that'll help."

As she and the rest of RWBY walked back into the main area of the ship, Opal shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

With a sudden lurch, Maria piloted the ship into a rapid descent that brought the city of Mantle below Atlas into full view. Lux held onto the back of her chair for security until the ship slowed back down into a more tolerable cruising speed, though he couldn't manage to tear his eyes away from the city they now found themselves about to enter. He wanted to return to his team, but…

Mantle was something else. Even from a glance so far away, Lux could tell it was the polar opposite of the capital of the kingdom it was a part of. If Atlas was sophisticated, respectable, and affluent, Mantle was technologically backward, socially seedy, and broken. It wasn't like home, though. It wasn't like Vacuo – _that_ was a different kind of brokenness. Whatever Mantle was going through, a cold sense of suffering seemed to seep so deeply into the very foundations of the city in such a way that words couldn't describe. With eyes such as his own, it was well and truly a sad sight to behold. The worst part?

None of it was unexpected.

Lux was jerked out of his silent staring when a familiar feminine hand clasped itself onto his shoulder. "Lux. I know what you're doing, and I'm not going to stop you, but come back to the rest of us. You don't have to look at everything that's going on alone."

Opal's hand slipped from his shoulder, and he sighed. "Right."

The pair then rejoined the other two members of Iridescence at their previous seats, though all their focus rested almost exclusively on the streets and signs all across Mantle as they cruised through the city. Lux felt Tenebris' eyes land on him for a moment, but his twin brother quickly decided to leave him well enough alone. Given their shared origins and opinions, both of them were bound to have strong feelings about Mantle right about now.

 _"I cannot express our appreciation enough,"_ a massive display with an announcement from Ironwood played out. _"Many have described these as uncertain times, and while that may be the case for the rest of the world, I can tell you what_ is _certain. The Kingdom of Atlas will remain strong, and it will remain safe. That is my promise."_

"That's the general," Tenebris pointed out. "What happened to him?"

Lux gave the display another look before it flickered to another image. Ironwood's once well-maintained and proud appearance was a thing of the past. Whereas before he hadn't even any stubble to speak of, now he sported a full beard, and his typically perfectly professional hairstyle had degraded into a disheveled mockery of its former self. His outfit had changed and somehow it managed to save a great deal of face at a glance, but there was a look in Ironwood's eyes that bespoke of an untold amount of strain hidden beneath the surface of his skin.

The twins had admired him in some capacity in the past – the great general of the Atlesian military who doubled as the headmaster of Atlas Academy. Now, though… he looked like a shadow of the man that had once carried himself with confidence and purpose in every step.

"Months and months of stress after the fall of Beacon probably happened to him," Lux solemnly guessed.

"No arguments there, but…" Qrow stopped. "James… what've you been doing?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Lux noticed Weiss fiddling with her scroll to try and call her sister, only to meet no answer if the tension on her face was any indicator. In the streets of Mantle below, more details continued to reveal themselves to everyone in the airship. Civilians walked the streets in heavy clothing to shield them from the cold of Solitas due to lack of any better protection, but so too did several patrols of Atlesian Knights make themselves known every few blocks or so. Floating camera drones fluttered along the sidewalk to add yet another level of unease and unspoken intimidation to the denizens of Mantle's lives, and it didn't take anyone long to conclude that something had to be amiss. Be it due to some newfound malevolence on Ironwood's part or something else, no one knew, but Lux was far from pleased to see a stray faunus or two out on the street as their airship coasted along.

The radio crackled to life again. _"Manta 5-1, we've noticed a deviation in your angle of approach,"_ she said, her tone much more forceful than before. _"You are to make your way to docking bay Omega-12 immediately, do you copy? Over."_

"Hey, kids?" Maria questioned. "If you're all done taking in the sights and sounds of Mantle, I'd like to go ahead and mention that we're clearly running out of time. What's our next move?"

"We should ditch the ship," Yang suggested.

"Agreed." Qrow stood and moved to the doorway separating the main cabin from the cockpit to nod at Yang. "We can get lost in Mantle and buy ourselves some time."

"But I'm telling you, my sister can take us to Ironwood," Weiss protested.

Blake tapped on her shoulder. "Uh, Weiss?"

On either side of the airship, the chime of a mechanical bell punctuated the activation of two more massive holographic screens on the few skyscrapers that stood tall above the smaller brick buildings all beneath it. None other than Winter Schnee herself appeared on the projections, and she looked completely at ease with what she said next.

 _"A reminder – failure to comply with Atlas military personnel is a punishable offense. If your sector is under lockdown, please ask your local officials…"_

The airship continued on, and the rest of the message thereafter faded into obscurity. Lux and the rest of Iridescence exchanged uneasy looks at one another before their attention fell back on the ex-heiress of the SDC herself. JNPR and Qrow mimicked the gesture, and the confusion on Weiss' face became clear when she turned away from the shrinking image of her elder sister behind them. Lux could only guess what would be going through her head right now.

"No offense, but I don't think that's a good idea anymore," Qrow gently advised.

Weiss stood. "Look, there's obviously something very wrong, here. If we could just talk to her, then-"

"Listen, I don't even think we should be talking to _Ironwood_ until we understand exactly what's going on in Mantle," Qrow countered. "It's in our best interest if we don't do something that we might end up regretting five minutes from now. I'm not saying that we can't trust your sister, but I am saying that we can't _assume_ she's trustworthy. Haven taught us better than that."

"But-"

"Everyone calm down," Maria intruded. "I know someone who can help us with both."

 _"Manta-5-1, you are to_ make your way- _"_

Tenebris straightened in his seat. "And that's our cue to get the hell out of dodge."

Opal nodded. "Right. Maria? Take us down."

"Hmph! I don't take orders from kids, you know," Maria argued with an audible smirk in her voice. "But seeing as I was about to do that anyway…"

The airship's engines whined to shift gears, and they picked up speed to find a suitable landing spot to ditch their stolen mode of transport. All members of their group save for Maria grabbed their few belongings, secured their weapons someplace on their bodies, and with a preparatory projection of their Auras to shield them from the cold, were ready to go. Opal, Tenebris, and Aurora all exuded some amount of unease each while Lux tried to hide his as the ground pulled up to meet them. He'd be lying if he said he felt anything but dread for their imminent introduction to the streets of Mantle.

After all, there was a world of a difference between observance of oppression from on high and walking through the very streets of the city where your kind was implicitly viewed by millions as the inferior race of Remnant.

* * *

There were a great many things that someone could learn about their sibling throughout the years. By the very nature of genetics and a typically shared household, one could see some modicum of themselves in their older or younger sibling – faults, aspirations, idiosyncrasies no one else would pick up on. Down to the very fiber of a set of siblings' being, there would be some constants that always stood out among the equal number of variables that separated any given member of a family apart from the others. No two people would ever be exact copies of one another, even when shared blood bound them together forever as being cut from the same cloth, but there was an anomaly among family units that amplified the connection any given set siblings would already share by merely being born.

Twins. To those intrigued enough to investigate the genetic rarity, twins could often be found to share fashion sense, hobbies, dreams for the future and more even if they were separated for what could be forever mere moments after their birth. Even in a world so strange and seemingly destined for destruction as Remnant, it didn't matter what combination of races the couple that brought said twins into the world was, the rule would remain true. Thus, even distinguished from one another by their very race, Tenebris' innate link to Lux provided him better insight into the thoughts of his brother than anyone could even fathom.

From the moment they landed in Mantle, that same link allowed Tenebris to tell that no small number of uncomfortable thoughts lingered in the back of Lux's mind. His brother's adulation of Atlesian tech and professional Huntsmen had died down over time, but he knew that it was all but impossible for the dark haze that hovered over the city they'd landed in to not affect Lux in some way. From the run-down nature of Mantle to the stray faunus on the streets to General Ironwood's seeming shift from being an unwavering bastion of light to one of moral greyness, all of it had to be taking its toll on him. He hid it well behind the thoughtful look he often had on his face whenever he was looking a new locale over, but Tenebris could see his stress as clear as day. He was sure that Lux could see that stress in him if he dared look away from the brick cityscape before them for even a second.

Not that Tenebris could blame him for engaging in his habitual analysis of his surroundings. It'd saved their group's lives several times over when they traveled to Mistral on foot, and it wasn't like Mantle wasn't a marvel to look at in its own right. It was run-down and dismal, yes, but it was still an interesting new place to experience, in its own twisted way. The very city _felt_ dark despite the light of the broken moon and lamplights combined, and it fundamentally lacked any spark of liveliness or life one would expect of a city. People could be found idly making their way through the streets, but even that wasn't enough to convince anyone in their party that the atmosphere they found the city in possession of was anything short of depressing, at best.

Compared to the technological and shining megalith that was Atlas overhead, the existence of a city in a state such as this felt like some kind of sick joke. Given the presence of so many homeless faunus hiding in the heated alleyways of Mantle for warmth, though, it wasn't one that had anyone other than the Atlesian elites laughing.

A truck filled with people passing by caught Tenebris and others' attention. The truck bed was filled past capacity with faunus, all caked in dirt and sweat. Most of them were quite obviously miners, given their miner's caps, but many others were mere craftsmen, construction workers, and other varieties of physical laborers. Not a single one of their expressions were anything other than both dreary and fatigued at the same time, making it clear that none of them had lived a life being seen as anything other than another disposable worker.

The sight made Tenebris' blood boil.

"This is _wrong…_ " Opal murmured as the truck shrank into the distance. "In so many ways."

Aurora placed a hand on her shoulder while they continued to follow Maria forward. "Well, maybe if we can get to the bottom of what's going on here, we can try and help in the future. I do hope that future's sooner rather than later, though…"

Lux's fist clenched, his expression dark. "Five minutes in Mantle and I'm starting to understand why the White Fang exists. Those faunus were being carted around like livestock."

"To see it up close…" Blake trailed off, carefully slowing down to hide among her teammates. "It's disturbing."

"It's _sick,_ " Tenebris bit out. "No one should have to live like that."

The sound of an array of footsteps too heavy and swift to be anything other than Atlesian soldiers stopped any further conversation from going down. Tenebris could hear shouts to the effect of 'find the airship' – though he knew no one other than Blake or Opal could've been able to discern what exactly had been said, he didn't need to have heard the exact letter of the orders that had been barked out to know they needed to keep moving. After he sent an empathetic look Lux's way that it seemed no one else picked up on, and his brother returned a nod, the twins made sure to stick close together at the back of the group. The less either of them had to worry about their negative emotions infecting everyone else, the better.

Only a handful of seconds passed before Maria broke the silence with a few words tossed over her shoulder. "Come on now, kids, it's not too much farther! Shouldn't be much of a walk if we keep up the pace."

Pyrrha glanced at an Atlesian Knight down the street. "Is this many soldiers' deployment on the streets… normal, by any chance?"

"No," Weiss answered distantly. "Or at least… I didn't think so."

"Hmm…" Maria's grip on her cane shifted a bit toward the center of it. "Well, as to avoid any added risk of attracting attention due to stress, allow me to take your minds off of our current mission with a little history lesson, eh?"

"Is now truly a good time for such a thing?" Pyrrha asked.

"Listen closely and maybe it might have a good point mixed in somewhere," Maria responded, a cheeky smirk appearing on her face. "Now, you all have to remember, back in the days just after the Great War ended, the kingdom of Mantle entered a heavy recession. Given the monetary costs of the war effort itself and their reparations, the economy simply couldn't withstand the strain. The people needed jobs. They needed _hope._ For the people in this city, that sign was the project that became Atlas. After all, as impossible a feat as it may have sounded like at the time, a potential home in the clouds was about as bright a future as they could ever hope for."

Another two trucks crammed with faunus drove by when the group reached an intersection. Maria's mechanical eyes followed the trucks as they continued along, barely moving at a crawl when they had to turn down the street. She continued moving. "Though that isn't to say life became sunshine and rainbows for _everybody._ In light of the economic boom that followed the completion of the efforts to make Atlas, many of the families that had spearheaded the efforts wished to consolidate their power. Given the remaining reservoir of supreme military technology the kingdom possessed at the time, they fought for a new, more militaristic style of governance over the kingdom. That shift marked the end of Mantle and the rise of Atlas as we know it today. Perhaps this level of military presence isn't normal, but the very origins of this kingdom have made such potential pressures on the lives of the less fortunate possible. Remember that."

Pyrrha nodded solemnly. "Yes, ma'am."

"This whole city…" Blake's ears wilted against her head. "It just seems awful. Rotten, even."

An unsteady shuffle of fabric and footwear against the pavement stopped everyone in their tracks. Tenebris was among one of the first to turn around to find none other than an incredibly intoxicated man standing unsteadily a few feet away from him. Judging by the obnoxious pout on his face and the flask in his hand, he probably wasn't in the most upbeat of moods, nor was his friend on the steps of a building next to him.

"Oh yeah, is that right!?" He slurred. "There's plenty of space out in the tundra for ya! Go on, scram if you don't like it here! More dust n' shit for the rest of us!"

With a weary sigh, Blake stepped forward to address the man. "Listen, I didn't mean to-"

"Atlas is the _greatest kingdom_ in the world, alright!?"

His friend cut in before any more damage could be done. Judging by his inability to stand up in a timely fashion, though, he wasn't in any sober state of mind either. "Listen, lady, the embargo Ironwood put up to 'protect us' has put us in a bit of a rough patch, but it'll blow over, you'll see. No need to worry about a thing. Hey, Oak? Can I get another sip of that?"

Oak threw his flask into the other man's hands. He pointed angrily at Blake. "We try to help the other kingdoms protect themselves from the Grimm and _this_ is what happens? I say we let 'em all rot! And if you're from one of 'em, you can rot, too!"

Blake tensed. "I am _sorry._ I didn't intend-"

"Okay, no, don't apologize," Tenebris interrupted.

"What? You a faunus-lover or something?" Oak confusedly asked.

Tenebris moved in front of him, an icy calm look on his face. The drunkard barely reached up to his shoulders, revealing both how imposing Tenebris himself was and how diminutive in comparison the Atlesian citizen was simultaneously. "No. I'm the twin brother of one, and you have five seconds to either walk away or apologize to my friend for being an ass. Clock's ticking, so… take your pick."

"Ohhhh dear…" Aurora murmured.

"Wait, what's happening?" Jaune asked, dumbfounded.

"You'll see," Lux answered. "There won't be a scene, at least."

At the very moment he finished off the flask, his unnamed friend turned to Tenebris slowly, as if incredulous at the implications of his tone. "You know, if you're trying to be funny, you didn't make a good joke outta that line."

"Oh, come on, Elm! Don't play along!" Oak exclaimed. "This guy's just trying to cover for his stupid little faunus fuckt-"

Given his passive strength-augmenting semblance, it took almost no effort at all for Tenebris to bonk the two drunkards' heads together. Lacking in unlocked Auras, like most civilians in the handful of cities across the world, the pair dropped like stones onto the pavement. With how suddenly their skulls had met one another, they didn't even have time to feel any pain.

Tenebris couldn't help but let a sigh of relief heave from his chest. "Complete and utter catharsis, oh my gods, you have no idea how much they were pissing me off. Shall we move along, then?"

He turned around, and the first thing he saw was Opal. One of her ears were up, the other down as she gave him an utterly exasperated look. "As much as I appreciate that, Tenebris, please refrain from openly assaulting random people on the street again."

"That's what's actually called a 'Vacuan hello,' but point taken."

Only sticking around for as long as it took for Maria to clamber onto Qrow's back as to act as everyone's guide while he took lead up front, the group set off once again in the direction of their unknown ally. They all picked up speed to the point that people on the street might've thought that they were a group of particularly well-armed travelers being taught by some eccentric elderly woman, but Tenebris couldn't keep a slight smirk from appearing on his face as he continued to jog alongside his team.

"Tenebris?" Aurora caught his attention. "Was that really worth it?"

"Is that a question?" Tenebris quipped.

The only response Aurora had to him at that point was to roll her eyes, which earned a grin and a laugh from Tenebris ask their jog brought them ever closer to their destination. If those two drunk guys could remember anything of what happened, he'd probably be branded a petty criminal in the eyes of the authorities, but Tenebris couldn't quite compel himself to care. After all, anyone who was raised in Vacuo knew swift justice was one hell of a way to relieve stress in day-to-day life.

 _'Mom, Dad… you guys taught us well.'_

* * *

It was more than once that Aurora wondered what values being raised in Vacuo taught her teammates about how to act. Rowdy though he could when he was in a particularly energetic mood, Lux was by and far more reserved than Tenebris when it came to the exhibition of his Vacuan sensibilities. Perhaps that reserved nature came part in parcel with his comparatively more thoughtful and intellectual nature than his brother's, but Tenebris always struck Aurora as someone who never lacked intelligence himself. He simply exuded a more laid-back attitude in most situations, but on those rare occasions something did manage to get under his skin, Aurora could say for certain that the fiery temper he could exude made many kinds of Grimm seem docile by comparison. That same tempter concerned and frustrated Aurora in almost equal amounts, at times.

Given the nature of the confrontation everyone had to flee from as a consequence of Tenebris' actions, though, Aurora couldn't say that it was an incident that'd cling to her mind forever. If Lux and Opal didn't seem as though they were going to latch onto the incident, she'd follow her faunus friends' lead and let the memory of Tenebris' casual assault fall by the wayside. For now.

At that moment, Maria must've indicated their arrival at her unknown contact was imminent, as Qrow slowed down and set her down to take the lead once again. The rest of the group followed suit, and after turning one last corner, the warm glow of green lights from a building down the street stood out from all the others nearby – it had to be their destination. Maria guided them ever closer, and more details as to the purpose of the building became clear. Judging by the green plus-sign that hovered over the small sloped canopy of the place, it was a clinic. That suspicion was then confirmed when a red panda-eared faunus girl with a robotic arm jumped out of the building, a merry skip in her step. She looked at her more primitive prosthetic in awe, testing it out for a moment when an elderly man's voice emerged from within.

"Now, no more heavy lifting, ya hear?" he called.

She turned around. "Of course, sir! Thank you!"

"Not a problem! Come back anytime for a free tune-up!"

The girl nodded and continued on her way. Maria's attention only lingered on the girl for as long as it took for the stranger to disappear around a corner, at which point she stepped into the clinic herself. Given the small size of the door and the building it belonged to, everyone else had to funnel themselves in after her.

Aurora didn't know what she expected to see inside, but the large and homely study she found herself stepping into alongside Iridescence wasn't it. Stuffed bookshelves lined a good two-thirds of the walls inside, masking the faded green wallpaper behind each piece of furniture, but each of them also had the occasional knick-knack or other such personal touches amidst the innocuous mass of books nearby. The floors were hardwood, but scratched and aged, similar to the frames of many paintings and charts that hung on the walls. The only thing in the room that _wasn't_ in disrepair – aside from a high-tech clinical corner of the room that felt oddly out of place amongst so much wood – was a rather expensive-looking large work desk. Hidden behind an absolute mountain of books, papers, and hard-light displays, Aurora almost missed the man who'd called out to the faunus girl only a few moments ago.

Not very surprising, given how he was currently bent over and busy rummaging around in some drawer or other nearby. Even Maria's approach and their group's entrance wasn't enough to catch the elderly man's attention.

Maria tapped her cane distinctly against the floor, clearing her throat. "Excuse me, old friend. A moment of your time?"

Suddenly, the man rose to sit upright, revealing with clarity his dark skin and the short, balding white hair that remained on his head, somewhat hidden by the green cap he wore alongside a pair of oval-shaped glasses. He was dressed in a red vest over a cream shirt and pink bowtie, and from her angle, Aurora could make out dark mustard pants on his legs, but not much else. The man idly reached down to close the drawer he'd been rifling through and tilted his head up a bit even though his confused gaze on Maria forced his eyes to look down.

"Erh… forgive me, but have we met?" he asked.

Aurora's shoulders slumped. "This bodes well."

"Cybernetic optical implants?" Maria pointed at her eyes, and the motion somehow caused them to twitch uneasily. "You adjust them every ten years or so?"

He stared at her for another few seconds before abruptly throwing his hands cheerfully into the air. "Maria! Yes, with the cybernetic optical implants! I adjust them every ten years or so. _Wow,_ had it been that long already? Oh, nevermind that, come on over to the examination table."

His white and green chair started to move on four mechanical legs, revealing itself to be of a far higher level of technology than most of what could be found in the rest of Mantle. He extended a hand to Maria, who took it, and slowly led her over to the white-tiled clinical portion of the room. Aurora hardly had time to process the reveal of the elderly man's evident lack of unassisted mobility before Maria spoke again.

"Yes, yes, I know. I age like a fine wine," Maria said while she used a step-stood to sit atop the sterile, cushioned table. "Would've been here sooner if I hadn't run into these jokers. At the time, I thought they might've needed my guidance dealing with a few nasty little Manticores led by one nasty old Sphinx."

"Oh, and did they?" the man asked, steering his chair back a step.

"No, no. They had much more… shall we say, complicated issues," Maria answered.

Qrow cleared his throat. "And this is…?"

Maria scoffed softly. "So impatient! I didn't think I'd need to introduce one of Atlas' finest minds."

Yang gave her an incredulous look. "Working in a place like this…?"

The ceiling creaked, and a single flimsy tile fell to the floor in an explosion of dust and rubble. Either the universe had some wicked sense of humor, or Qrow's semblance seemed as though it was dead set on ruining Maria's attempts to introduce her friend. At this point, Aurora was convinced that those scenarios were equally likely.

"He likes to keep a low profile," Maria countered. "Something that I've come to realize none of you know anything about."

The man set a hand over his heart. "You can call me Pietro."

"Finest heart, too. This clinic is just where he volunteers when he's not building the future of Atlas alongside Ironwood, up in the clouds."

Pietro waved dismissively at her. "Oh, it's just stuffy up there. Down here, I get to help the locals and have a little fun while I'm at it! I'm currently working on shoes that make you dance! Wanna try 'em on?"

" _Yes!_ " Nora exclaimed.

Pyrrha's attention turned inward. "Such an invention seems like it'd remove all the practice that it takes to become talented at dancing…"

"Y'know, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that," Jaune mentioned.

Ren's head scanned over his teammates, obviously not sharing in their relative interest. "You all do recognize how extremely absurd it is that you're taking his implication of such a device's development seriously, right?"

"But before we get to that…" Yang intruded, stepping in front of everyone. "We were wondering if you could help us. We came to Atlas hoping to talk to General Ironwood, but um…"

"What exactly has been happening here?" Blake finished.

Pietro let out a series of coughs. "Well, the fall of Beacon took a toll on all of us. James was no different. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was that he saw there, but it changed him – down to the core of his being. He's…"

"He's scared," Qrow said.

"Paranoid would be the more appropriate term," Pietro corrected. "You have to understand, it wasn't just the Grimm or the White Fang's attack that caused him so much stress. Someone completely dismantled Atlas security code, made it their plaything, and made us look like traitors to some and buffoons to everyone else. Whoever managed to do that must either be a genius or one of our own. I fear that the answer may be both, and so does the general."

"Maybe Atlas isn't as safe as we thought," Lux whispered, his eyes darting along the floor.

"After we came all this way, we can't just leave, can we?" Oscar questioned uncertainly.

Weiss stepped forth next. "How does the council feel about all of this? Or Winter Schnee? Do you know anything about her?"

Pietro's lips tightened. "Well, the council's so scared, they'll agree to whatever he wants at this point. Some representatives from Mantle would beg to differ as to how he's set his priorities lately, but I'm afraid that with the previous council member from Mantle unexpectedly stepping down after the fall of Beacon, they won't have enough of a voice to make any meaningful change until after the upcoming election's outcome has been decided. But all of you must have traveled far to reach Atlas though the embargo, yes? B-Bot!"

His chair turned around, and from behind the examination table, a previously hidden humanoid robot rose from its collapsed position on the floor. Unlike an Atlesian Knight, the machine before them looked much more like a robotic butler than any kind of engine of war. It even had a corny metallic mustache and monocle where the slits that were its 'eyes' would be.

"B-Bot, go on upstairs into the old kitchen and get these folks some refreshments," Pietro commanded. The machine's eyes flickered with a green light for a moment, and it left the room out another door near where it had been stirred from its hibernation.

"Listen, I don't know if refreshments are what we…" Ruby trailed off.

Pietro's attention wasn't on the bot he'd sent away anymore, nor was it on Ruby either. Instead, his gaze was firmly fixed on Yang's prosthetic arm. "You… painted it. That arm. I remember making it like it was just yesterday, and-" he took in a sharp breath. "You four must be Team RWBY!"

"Sir?" Ruby questioned as the elderly genius pointed at Jaune.

"Your little group has to be Team JNPR then! And…" Pietro looked deep into Opal's eyes and took his mouth fell agape. " _Opal Malachite?_ Of Team Iridescence? Can that really be you? Why it's been so long…"

Opal's brow furrowed slightly. "You know me?"

"Of course!" he happily exclaimed. "I made that prosthetic arm your friend has _and_ your eye! I had business dealings in Mistral _solely_ through the Malachite Clan once upon a time, but… life got busy for me after I was raised up as Atlas' top mind. I suppose it's quite possible that Peridot and Beryl didn't tell you much about me, though – the last time we saw each other in the flesh, you were still too young to remember!" Pietro paused, a wistful smile tugging on the corner of his lips. "But enough about me! How're your old folks doing? They were obviously busy raising you right, I see!"

As he finished, Pietro laughed before descending into another coughing fit. The 'B-Bot' he'd sent to gather refreshments returned, then, wide plates of snacks and drinks balanced perfectly on its arms and further secured by thin metal rods that sprouted out to expand the surface area it had to work with. Given the topic Pietro had brought up, however, no one in the room dared even look at what the robot had set down on its master's desk.

Pietro quickly caught on to the unease in the air. "What? Did I… say something wrong?"

All eyes landed on Opal, and Aurora put a hand on her shoulder to provide her best friend what little comfort she could. Opal stared down long and hard at the floor for a few seconds that stretched on into eternity before she regarded Pietro again.

Her voice came out soft and mournful. "They're dead."

"I… no, that's…" Pietro's composure crumbled, and his expression became crestfallen as tears started spilling down his cheeks. "No… haven't I lost enough already?"

"Pietro, sir? What do you mean?" Pyrrha gently inquired.

He looked at her with a slight shake of his head. "I introduced myself to you all as Pietro, but I didn't inform you all of my _full_ name. My name is Pietro Polendina, and the girl I was told you all knew – Penny? She was my masterpiece. For all intents and purposes… she was my _daughter,_ too. After I found out what happened to her… that alone almost threatened to break my spirits forever."

Pyrrha's eyes widened. "Sir, I am so-"

"Don't be sorry. I… I was also informed about the circumstances and the foul series of events that led to her demise. I don't blame you."

"That doesn't bring her back, though…" Pyrrha held herself close, earning her a reassuring squeeze on the bicep by Jaune.

"No. No, it doesn't, but we can't change the past. I've had to come to terms with the loss of the remarkable, one-of-a-kind girl I came to know as my daughter, but…" Pietro signaled his chair to take another few steps toward Opal. "To lose one's parents at such a young age... I can't fathom the pain and torment you must've gone through, Opal, and for that I apologize. I'd also like to apologize for my reaction to the news – it must've seemed quite rude given what you've probably had to go through over these past few months."

"It's okay. I've had a lot of time to mourn their loss too, and it's not like I'm alone." Opal looked at Aurora, then to the twins. "I still have my family. At home, and right here with me."

Pietro wiped his eyes. "Why that's a rather strong sentiment if I do say so myself, and one I think you should be proud to possess. But what about the Malachite Clan now? Have they been able to cope? I know your parents treated practically everyone who even married into the clan as though they were true family. They were the salvation of quite a few of your people, even as far back as my day."

With a nod assuring her that she was okay, Aurora let her light grip on Opal's shoulder go and allowed her to walk slowly over to Pietro's desk alongside him. Everyone ignored Maria's rumble of elderly displeasure at having her tune-up delayed a little while longer.

"I won't lie, from what Sandy told me, it was tough. The clan fell into a depression like the one that followed the attack that made me lose my eye, and it was only because my death was never confirmed that the inner council was able to inspire any hope at all in everyone while they waited to see if I'd ever turn up again," Opal explained. "Long story short, when all of us reached Mistral, I was made the leader of the clan and shifted everyone's focus from artisan work to the assistance of anyone who wanted to be a Huntsmen in the future. Inside and out of the clan."

Pietro smiled slightly. "Now _that_ is a noble goal if I've ever heard one. Your parents would be proud. I thought you'd like to hear that."

"I know they would be." Opal mimicked the gesture and nodded. "Thank you."

"Not a problem. Now, as I do recall, the rest of you were curious about the current state of affairs in the kingdom, yes?" Pietro asked.

"Correct," Ren stated.

"Well, I'll get to all of that in a little bit. For now, all of you can breathe easy knowing that my clinic here will always be available, should you need a place to rest and recuperate after a long day's work. It's the least I can do for friends of Opal's, aside from the snacks. Sound like a good plan to all of you?" Pietro asked.

Everyone present responded in differing ways. Qrow and Oscar seemed hesitant to put their mission and quest for information on pause, Aurora noticed that JNPR and her teammates both looked relieved at the idea of taking a moment to collect themselves, while RWBY seemed as though they teetered somewhere between the two other perspectives present. Aurora looked expectantly at Qrow.

"Yeah, sure," Qrow conceded. "That works for now, I guess."

"Great! Now, if that'll be all, I'll go ahead and give Maria that tune-up she's undoubtedly been waiting for."

As he moved out from his desk again with a toolbox he'd had hidden within one of the drawers in hand, Maria gave him a vaguely amused look. "Oh, me? Please, I have the patience of a saint when it comes to these things, you know."

The elderly pair both let out a set of companionable chuckles, and Pietro arrived at the examination table. He cracked open his toolbox, Maria scooted a little closer to provide Pietro easy access to her prosthetic eyes as his chair raised him higher, and the finest mind in Atlas set to work. Everyone else in the group meandered their way to the refreshments B-Bot had brought after Opal left Pietro's desk, though Aurora noticed that her eyes remained loosely fixed on the master inventor of Atlas as he worked with his latest patient.

"You never realize how much effort and technology goes into Atlesian prosthetics until you see it up-close and personal," Lux mentioned.

Opal had rejoined her team by now, while the rest of their group vaguely crowded around the nearby snacks. Pietro had also already split Maria's prosthesis evenly in half to reveal the rather complex assortment of electronics that had been hidden by the glowing blue circles that acted as her eyes. For Maria's sake, Aurora hoped that the maintenance of the technology wasn't too uncomfortable an ordeal to sit through. Judging by the neutral look on the Grimm Reaper's face, though, it didn't look like she felt much of anything – so at least Aurora had that to smooth away her worries.

"That, and not a lot of people ever realize how far the technology of prosthetic body parts has come in recent years," Opal added. "Compare my eye to Maria's full set and the difference is like night and day. Mine's almost indistinguishable from my normal eye unless you're close-up to me, while Maria's are the size of a clunky visor."

"I wonder why she never had them replaced with a newer model…" Aurora wondered.

Opal shrugged. "Probably because of the surgery involved. My eye is so advanced you can just pull it out to clean it or maintain it so long as you're careful, but there was still some surgery I had to go through to get it installed in the first place – and mine's high-tech. Imagine the surgery Maria would have to go through to replace hers with something like mine. At her age, it'd probably be more trouble than it's worth."

"Probably costs a lot, too," Tenebris chimed in, crossing his arms and leaning up against the wall. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't remember ever hearing about roaming legendary fighters ever having insurance available to them before Huntsmen became a thing. With how she lost her eyes, she was lucky enough to survive, let alone get a new set with whatever Lien she probably had on her back then."

As Tenebris slid down into a seated position on the floor, Lux joined him. "You're not wrong. Of course, it must've helped that Pietro was probably the guy that worked on Maria – I don't get the impression that he'd the kind of person that'd charge someone who just got their eyes slashed out for a new set."

Opal and Aurora followed them onto the floor next, forming a line from where they all sat along the wall of the clinic. Aurora hummed. "He certainly seems like the charitable sort."

"Then let's hope that he'll be able to give us the information we need to make sure our mission gets done," Opal said. "As nice as it is to know there's someone in Mantle we can trust, and that seems to genuinely care about people no matter their race, we came to Atlas for a reason. Once he's done taking care of Maria, we need to learn more about what exactly has the military out in such numbers down here on the streets."

Lux bobbed his head in agreement. "If we're lucky, we'll be able to talk to Ironwood personally to get to the bottom of all this. The last thing we need right now is another Lionheart situation to deal with. If we had to do something like that again… I don't know what we'd do. Haven was one thing – the entire kingdom of Atlas is another."

"So long as we secure the lamp, we'll be off to a good start," Opal continued. "I don't know if we alone can incite meaningful change in the kingdom when it comes to the faunus, but I think that after this whole Relic mission is done, we should try anyway. If we tunnel-vision and focus only on the war with Salem… we'd lose part of what makes us better than her."

"For what it's worth, I wholeheartedly agree," Tenebris said. "We've been here for maybe a few hours and I'm sick of how it seems the faunus are treated. Gods forbid either of you guys get picked on…"

Lux closed his eyes. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we have a chance to calm down and prepare to make our next move. I want to help the faunus too, but I want to see our mission through to the end first, same as Opal."

Collapsing Sapphire from its naginata form into an assault rifle, Aurora set it in her lap and spoke once more. "Then that's what we'll plan on doing, for now. Now that we're even inside the walls of Mantle, we're so much closer to securing the Relic than we were even a few days ago. Once that's done, I'd like to think that we'll be able to spare a little of our time to doing what we want to do – at least so far as the faunus here in Mantle are concerned."

"It's not impossible," Opal agreed.

And with those last few words, while the other two teams and stray members of their party made quiet conversation of their own, Iridescence fell into a peaceful and contemplative silence. The last few hours they had spent in the borders of Atlas had been long and filled with incidents that each of them could digest in vastly different ways, and so, the brief reprieve they had been given by Pietro's generosity was more than appreciated. Even though Aurora was still unsure of how well her teammates, and even herself, would be able to endure the repeated reminders of the harshness the faunus in Atlas suffered through, she tried to remain hopeful.

For without hope, dismay would fill the gaps in one's mind, and the Grimm would inevitably follow not too long after. Even on a continent as cold as Solitas, the Grimm were a threat one simply couldn't ignore – especially with the vast quantities of negative energy Mantle alone had likely been producing, as of late. Add in the presence of the lamp and whatever other Relic was housed up in Atlas, and that dismay would only amplify the likelihood of the Grimm being drawn to the city.

Nevertheless, thanks to the assistance of one deep breath and a shift of her legs into a meditative pose, Aurora made the effort to center herself in the present. No matter what came next, she'd follow her heart and act to protect her friends. It was what she'd always done, even before Beacon fell, and it was what she didn't intend on stopping that habit of hers any time soon.

Of that much, she was certain.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Yep. We're going third person, people! Took me a kajillion years to get back to ToTI and a billion more to force myself to continue planning/writing for it given my love-hate relationship with RWBY, but we're here now, and I got me a plan! Granted, this fic** _ **probably**_ **won't have as frequent updates as WFAF since that fic is still my priority, and ToTI won't have as broad a scope as that fic either, but I do want to see it through to the end anyway. Point-of-views will vary since Opal is the prime protag, but think of this chapter as a bit of a test-run for me. At the bare minimum, I wanted to give you all a taste of each member of Iridescence's personalities before I possibly honed in the focus on mostly Opal, after all.**

 **Regardless! Iridescence & co. land in Mantle and shit ain't lookin' too hot for the local faunus population. Time will tell how deep the discrimination runs and what that means for the main cast… as well as what constants and variables exist in this timeline now that another writer (guess who? It me!) has some time to make their spin on the events contained in Volume 7.**


	22. Volume 7 - A Warm Welcome

After all conversation with her team petered out into nothingness and Pietro started to work on giving Maria's eyes the maintenance they so desperately needed, Opal's mind became quick to wander. Despite the myriad of topics she could've chosen from to occupy herself in the brief interlude between their arrival at Pietro's clinic and his imminent reveal of more information to the gang, she found that her thoughts most easily drifted in the direction of her parents. They'd been long since departed from the face of the world at this point, but Opal couldn't help but ponder what it meant to her that she'd been able to meet at least one more friend of theirs out in the wide-open world of Remnant. She wasn't naïve enough to think that they didn't have friends outside of the clan since before she'd been born, but the last thing she expected to find in Atlas – let alone Mantle – was someone who seemed to hold them as close to their heart as she did.

Yet even though she'd fully expected Pietro to mourn the loss of the light they brought to the world for hours on end after having been informed of their demise, the elderly scientist had done no such thing; instead, he'd even _apologized_ for having the strongly sullen reaction he did, as if he had no right to feel sorrow when she was standing right in front of him. That facet of Pietro's personality alone tugged at Opal's heartstrings almost as strongly as the reminder of her parents' deaths demise. Had she been merely another Huntress-in-training and not a member of the faction responsible for the preservation of the world, she could've easily imagined herself doing everything in her power to try and set Pietro's soul at ease. Her parents and the inner council had taught her well to respect her elders, especially when they were amid such emotional distress.

Perhaps there'd be more time down the line for Opal to learn more about the man that was Atlas' finest mind down the line, but for now, she didn't have any such luxury. She and every other able-bodied fighter in the room right now had the prior commitment of securing the Relic of Knowledge to see through first before they could even dream of pursuing even any of their comparatively minor personal goals. The time would come when they'd have a second to themselves, though – that much was inevitable.

Outside of the isolated bubble of thoughts that Opal chose to contain herself in, for the time being, her feline ears kept her informed of the fact that the snacks B-Bot had brought out a few minutes ago had been finished. So far as she was aware, given she'd never heard any of her teammates get up off the floor to go get some themselves, no one on her team had been so bold as to do the same.

Not that it surprised her. She'd lost her appetite the same second that the first homeless faunus on the streets had come into her periphery, and she couldn't imagine that her teammates wouldn't feel the same way. If there was one thing she knew, it was that Team Iridescence felt more strongly than anyone in their little faction of fighters about the faunus' plight than almost anyone else. The observation had always struck Opal as odd, given how Blake was outright part of the White Fang at one point, but the difference in the strength of her team's hearts concerning this one issue wasn't a cause for concern to her for one simple reason.

The other members of their group still _cared._ Perhaps not to the same extent as Iridescence, but none of them were blind to how the faunus were treated in many parts of the world. Opal had always figured that it was only logical that her team was more emotionally invested it all anyway, since their team was the only one that was comprised of fifty percent faunus members. Furthermore, of the two human members of their team, both of them were steadfast allies of the idea that faunus should be treated equally, and one of them was the genetically-rare – but not improbable – human twin brother to a faunus sibling.

With all that in mind, Opal probably would've been more concerned if her team _wasn't_ more emotionally invested in everything faunus-related than everyone else in their not-so-little party – where all this investment of theirs would be directed, however…

That one was anyone's guess.

One of her feline ears pricked in response to the sound of a final metallic _click_ coming from the direction of the examination table. Pietro let out a soft hum of approval, which led Opal to assume that his work had been complete alongside the sound of some tool being placed gently back into the box he'd brought with him. Opal opened her eyes to see the scientist orient his quadrupedal chair in such a way that'd grant him access once again to the portion of Maria's prosthesis that remained attached to her face. At the same time, each member of Iridescence slowly rose back onto their feet.

Pietro leaned in. "Now Maria, all I ask is that you hold still for just one second – maintenance and cleaning went swimmingly, so all that's left to do now is reattach your optical implants proper and you'll be good to go! If you'd turn my way..."

"Pietro…" Maria deadpanned.

"Oh! Right, right! Apologies!" Pietro chuckled and tapped her on the shoulder to provide her a hint as to his location. Only a few seconds later, he leaned in and successfully snapped the front segment of her prosthesis back into place.

Maria's eyes then slowly flickered back to life. "Ah! There you all are! You know, you forget what color vision is like after spending so many months with a blue tint on everything. I fall over once, and this thing goes haywire! Technology is such a fickle thing."

"Only when you don't have a helping hand nearby," Pietro mentioned.

"I can count the amount of 'helpful hands' I've met back in my day on _one_ hand, old friend, but point taken."

Qrow stepped forward. "Alright, I think I speak for all of us here when I say we appreciate the hospitality and all, but now that Maria's eyes have been fixed, do you think we can get back on track?"

"Of course!" Pietro paused, a pleasant smile on his face. "What were we talking about again?"

Jaune sighed. "Oh boy, here we go again…"

"The situation in Mantle," Qrow reminded. "You were going to tell us more about it."

"Right! _Wow,_ that slipped my mind entirely! Guess I really do have a few screws loose these days!" Pietro lifted his cap to momentarily scratch his head, but a more coherent look appeared on his face when he regarded Qrow again. "But, yes… the situation in the kingdom is far from superb. Even if you all traveled here from the nearest potential landing zone, I have no doubt that you've probably been able to see the state of affairs down here in Mantle. I don't personally go out too often, and even I can practically _feel_ the unease in the air."

"Yeah, we gathered that much, but that doesn't explain the heavy military presence here in the city," Qrow mentioned, his expression serious. "I've been to Atlas and Mantle a few times over the years, and I know for a fact that the amount of military personnel that's usually deployed in Mantle is just enough to police the area. Even with the entire air fleet called back, there's no reason for such a heavy military presence to be put in the city."

Pietro hummed. "You'll find no arguments from me, there. From what I understand, the general deployed so many of his available forces into the city as a precautionary measure. Thanks to the embargo, the potential for protests and riots are higher than ever, and so he's chosen to try and dissuade such incidents from happening as best he can."

"But doesn't he see how this is hurting the people of Mantle?" Pyrrha asked. "The longer he encroaches upon the freedoms of those he's sworn to protect, the more liable he is to foster the growth of negativity in their hearts himself."

"Why I'm sure the general's aware of the consequences of what he's done, but…" Pietro lightly shook his head. "I'm afraid that he sees the actions he's taken as the only possible way he can assure the safety of the kingdom."

"Is safety worth oppression, though?" Aurora asked.

" _That,_ my dear,is up for debate."

"And personally?"

"Personally, I don't think it's my place to say," Pietro answered simply. "I've never been one to keep up with the fine politics and motions involved in running a kingdom, but what I will say is that the effects of the actions the general's taken are _very_ tangible."

Qrow stroked his chin. "I suppose we can't fault you for that. Ethics of the general's decisions aside, my biggest concern is if he's mentally well enough for us to talk to him. We have… business, with him."

"That concern of yours is certainly understandable, but I can assure you that while Ironwood might not be at top form, he's still himself." Pietro keyed his chair to carry him and the toolbox he'd placed in his lap back over to his desk. "He's scared, yes, but you'll be able to talk to him without fear of being thrown in a cell on a whim. Thankfully, he isn't that far gone."

As Pietro stowed away his tools for the time being, Oscar approached him. "Well, since you're one of Atlas' big scientists, do you think you could personally get us escorted to see Ironwood? I know it's a lot to ask, but-"

Alarms. Louder than those of any that would indicate the presence of a fire or some criminal activity, and beyond unsettling given the atmosphere of the city in which they sounded. Oscar stopped himself the moment they bled into increasing audibility, while everyone else found their eyes drifting in the direction of the door.

"That's got to be trouble!" Jaune exclaimed. "We have to help."

All able-bodied fighters present stood, and those who had set their weapons aside during their brief respite brought them right back onto their persons. Opal was extra careful to make sure her quiver was strapped on tight for what action would inevitably follow. Qrow threw a look toward the leaders of the three full teams in the room and made his way out the door. Not a moment later, everyone else jogged outside to follow him. Opal followed up the rear, though she paused at the threshold to the streets of Mantle when she felt eyes on the back of her head. She turned around to find Pietro looking worriedly at her.

"I won't stop you," he said. "But be careful out there."

Opal only nodded at him before she left.

* * *

The once-comforting blue streetlamps that had been evenly dotted along the streets of the city had abruptly snapped into a harsh, ominous red by the time Opal got outside. Her hand rested on the hilt of Emerald, the screams of people running past her or somewhere nearby doubly as intense for her on account of her more sensitive set of ears. The constant wail of the sirens didn't help the stress she felt at entering a situation such as this subside, but she wasn't worried about her safety. She had her friends, team, and training to help her make it through this next crisis alive – it was the safety of the helpless citizens of Mantle that she felt so strongly about. Racist bigots though many of them might be, she didn't have the right to pick and choose who she saved while chaos reigned supreme.

A few more civilians ran by and everyone drew their weapons. Tenebris unlatched the magnetic seal Boomstick possessed on the back portion of his armor to heft it into his hand. Aurora trained Sapphire in its assault rifle mode down the street. Lux spun Wiz around on its strap to rest comfortably in his hands. Opal's grip on the hilt of Emerald tightened, her fingers ready to draw her masterwork of a weapon at a moment's notice.

Her ear twitched to the sound of a roar. Grimm.

"I guess the city defenses aren't doing too much," Oscar commented.

Nora huffed. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."

Another roar erupted down the street, and everyone's instinctual reactions to tighten their grip on their weapons and tense in preparation for action assured Opal they'd finally heard the same thing she had. In the distance, an Atlesian Knight's shredded metallic chassis was thrown like a softball up against a streetlamp with a resounding _clang._ After that, another four robots backed up into view as they fired back at Grimm assailants of the city, who in response came out in droves to rush them.

Sabyrs. Bodies like a nightmarish tiger's, incisors the length of daggers, and bony spikes protruding from their spines distinguished them as one of the few forms of abominations that could hope to make it so deep into Mantle so quickly. Patches of frost had accumulated on their impossibly black fur, though other than that and what it took to identify them, Opal was unable to get much clearer of a look at the creatures.

It certainly didn't help that they tore through the four remaining Atlesian Knights in ten seconds flat. The only silver lining in the machines' performance was that they at least took down a good four of five Sabyrs out of the imminent horde of Grimm before they were torn apart. A second or two after the last line of defense available on the street fell, well over two dozen Sabyrs came out from around either side of the street ahead and barreled down toward the assembled fighters.

With a flourish, Ruby slammed her scythe into the ground and took aim. "Well, we didn't come this far to fail now! RWBY, get ready!"

Her team did as they were told, while Opal took only one step forward before she looked back over her shoulder at hers. "I'm going in. Tenebris?"

Returning his weapon to its magnetic seal on his back, Tenebris smirked as the tail end of it sputtered flame in preparation to augment his speed. He then cracked his knuckles. "Right there with you."

"I'll support you two from range," Lux added.

Aurora shrugged. "And I'll be wherever you guys need me."

"Okay." Opal's legs tensed, and her eyes seemed to flash a determined green as she returned her attention to the fight ahead. "Then let's do this!"

She sprang forward with a swift use of her semblance to augment her speed and ran in first, the sounds of Tenebris, Yang, Ren and more all bursting into action simultaneously ringing clear in her ears. The Sabyr at the head of the pack charged straight at Opal and leaped into the air with a ferocious snarl, her grip on the hilt of her weapon tightened, and she saw her opportunity.

Without so much as breaking her stride, she amplified her speed for one more burst and ran underneath her adversary. Finally, her katana was unleashed from its sheathe and in one fluid motion through the soft underbelly of the Sabyr, the monster was bisected. It disintegrated into hideous ash before it even hit the ground, and the unmistakable sound of Tenebris' approach augmented by the thrust of his weapon came ever closer.

He sprinted past her with a wicked grin on his face. With all the weight of his body, armor, and weapon he tackled one Sabyr like a quarterback. The sudden impact sent his foe onto its side, and Tenebris wasted no time before he delivered a devastating curb stomp to the back of the monster's skull, destroying it. As a second Sabyr jumped onto a building before bounding toward him, Tenebris switched off the thrust of his weapon to plant himself firmly into the ground. A brutal right hook connected with the side of the Grimm's face before it could touch Tenebris – who then followed up the attack with a quick swing of Boomstick around into its chest to finish the beast off. A third member of the pack ran toward him then, and Tenebris spun around once to reorient his next strike as the creature committed to the same mistake all its predecessors made and pounced toward the brute force powerhouse of Iridescence.

Tenebris' attack connected with its chest and the Sabyr was sent into the air, but before he could take aim and launch a rocket to finish off his opponent, Aurora emerged onto the scene. Her cables wrapped themselves around streetlights and any available leverage nearby with practiced grace and efficiency, only for her to slingshot herself toward the airborne target the second it came into view. Sapphire swapped from its assault rifle mode back into a naginata, and Aurora killed the helpless Grimm with a deep stab into its throat. She launched another cable out from the apparatus on her back and continued down the street without even touching the ground, with another switch of her weapon's mode enabling her to rain down death from above on any other Grimm that dared enter the fray.

"Alright Aurora!" Tenebris cheered, starting to run after her. "That's the spirit! Whoever kills more Sabyrs gets to brag about it later!"

Opal couldn't help but feel the corner of her lip tug upward, but she stayed focused on the task at hand as another Sabyr came into view. She sheathed her katana and paid close attention to the speed at which it ran toward her, prepared to pool the power of her semblance in any given part of her body at just the right moment…

An instantaneous kick to the head of the Grimm sent if off-course, its claws unable to even scratch a hair on Opal's head with how quickly it was cast aside. Exploiting the time it took for the beast to recover, she gently unsheathed her weapon and held it out in front of her. With the press of a button, a similar segmented version of her katana blade came out from the hilt and the tips of either blade folded forward. Hard light filled the gap to form the vital string of Emerald's bow mode just in time for Opal to fetch an arrow from her quiver. The Grimm before her shook its head and its legs moved to try and close the gap again, but the faunus proved faster, and an arrow pierced its skull before it even moved an entire foot.

There was no time to celebrate – one of Opal's ears flicked in the direction of another source of sound, and she whirled to face yet another Grimm. She was about to swap her weapon back to its melee form when the beast pounced at her, which left her no other option than to dodge.

But there turned out to be no need. The loud _crack_ of a familiar musket being fired caught her attention from behind, a single bullet blasted the skull of Opal's assailant into ash, and the rest of the Sabyr's body followed suit. She harbored no doubts as to whose handiwork that kill had to have been done by.

"Cutting it a bit close, huh?" Opal asked, turning around to Lux where she saw another pair of ashen corpses near him being carried away by the wind.

Lux looked up from the smoking barrel of his weapon to give her a clever smirk. "Nah. It's just that you guys must've been slacking off – a few Grimm actually got through to me."

Without warning, a compressed column of gale-force winds summoned by his semblance blasted him forward to meet her. As he flew through the air, he flourished his musket in his hands to begin its transformation. The stock of his weapon collapsed and straightened, a series of wooden parts sealed off his barrel from the outside world, and the entire length of Wiz extended into its full quarterstaff mode. Only then did Lux cut off the acceleration his semblance provided him.

He rolled along the ground and landed into a low posture. Carrying his momentum with a twist of his foot, he successfully focused all the energy he'd endowed himself with into a brutal thrust of his weapon into the jaw of the Sabyr that had sped toward them beneath Opal's notice. It flew back through the air in what felt like slow motion, not even seeming to register the hit until it turned to ash in the breeze. Lux smiled.

"And don't forget, I'm not a slouch in close quarters combat anymore." Lux pointed with two fingers at the next Sabyr that lacked any sense of self-preservation and curled his digits upward, causing another use of his semblance to launch their quarry into the air.

"You haven't forgotten how much you like to show off sometimes either, I see," Opal quipped.

Lux returned a shrug. "It's in my blood."

A grunt of exertion down the street drew the pair's attention forward. Tenebris tossed one young Sabyr into the one Lux had just knocked up, the force behind his throw so powerful that both of the Grimm were crushed into ash on impact. He then delivered a backhand to another juvenile Sabyr and lifted it by the throat while it was still stunned, only to then drop-kick the thing so hard it practically exploded into ash.

"I think you guys both forgot who the king of close quarters here is, though!" Tenebris called out, a confident and toothy grin on his face so bright it put Lux's to shame.

Aurora spun through the air and landed beside him. "You three are exhausting and your ability to banter in the middle of a battle is often the bane of my existence. Can we focus, please?"

"Who says we aren't?" Tenebris questioned.

Her only response was to point lazily back down the street. Another Sabyr, larger than all the others distinguished itself not only by sheer size but by the way it stalked toward them, as if it was gauging its chances of success before it engaged. The spikes on its back were the length of short swords and its incisors were stained a red so deep that it could've only been the blood of some of its previous victims from a time long since past. It tilted its head when it caught wind of Aurora's gesture.

"Well, shit. Alpha Sabyr, incoming!" Lux announced.

Opal trained her ear behind them to check on the others, only to be unsurprised when she heard them still amid combat themselves. "Everyone else is still busy with the rest of the Grimm. We can handle this one, we just need to work together!"

"And not give it any more time to study us," Aurora added.

"Then I'll go in first – hold it still for as long as I can while you guys make use of the opening," Tenebris suggested. The Alpha Sabyr lowered itself into a stance that suggested it was about to move, perhaps having identified the danger it was now in but preparing itself to fight back anyway. "Alright big guy… let's _do_ this!"

No further words were exchanged between the four fighters, and Tenebris broke out into a sprint to intercept the apex predator at the same time it sprang into motion itself. The former let out a war cry of excitement, the latter a deep roar to try and inspire fear in the heart of its foe, but neither combatant strayed from the path they'd set themselves on. One last second stretched on before either of them reached a good striking distance, and the Alpha Sabyr was the first to act. It employed a mighty leap toward its target with its mouth opened wide, but Tenebris stopped himself short in time to prepare himself to catch the Grimm by surprise.

Thrusting his armored hands forward, he caught the Alpha Sabyr by both halves of its large jaws and held on for dear life. Despite its intimidating size and strength, Tenebris' semblance proved superior, and the Grimm was forced to try and triumph in an encounter that had turned into a seemingly unwinnable contest of strength.

"Now!" Tenebris shouted.

Opal had already started sprinting toward her teammate before he and the Sabyr ever even clashed. Now that the time was right, though, green flame emanated from her shoulders and upper back for the briefest of moments as she pushed her semblance to its limits, delivering a blindingly fast series of slashes with her katana to one of the exposed sides of the beast.

It roared bloody murder, and Tenebris grunted in exertion while the asphalt under his feet cracked slightly under the pressure, but he held strong and didn't budge further. Aurora then launched herself forward. Her arrival was punctuated by a hail of bullets pelting the Grimm in its uninjured side before she flew by completely, and Lux jumped in to complete the trio of attacks with a follow-up strike to the top of the Sabyr's head before he landed further forward alongside the mobile members of the team.

The three turned around in expectant anticipation of the Grimm fading into the wind like all those that had come before it, only to find that the beast still stood. Tenebris strained against a now-wounded and immensely aggravated Alpha Sabyr, though he protected himself from being mauled with a preemptive kick to its belly. Letting go at the same time his attack connected, the Grimm's efforts mixed with Tenebris' kick sent it flying just far enough above his head to prevent it from being able to claw at him.

Tenebris backed up and rejoined the rest of Iridescence. "Looks like it doesn't want to go down easy."

"You think?" Opal quipped. "It almost bit your face off."

"Keyword there being _almost,_ " Tenebris argued.

"Well it's taken a bunch of solid hits from us, so it has to be on its last legs by now." Lux swapped Wiz back to its musket mode and chambered another round. He raised his weapon and aimed at the heavily breathing beast. "So come on, then! We don't have all night!"

Lux's last words appeared to have gotten a rise out of the Alpha Sabyr, causing it to bellow a loud growl toward the team of four. Its eyes seemed to burn an even fiercer shade of red as it prepared to move, each member of Iridescence prepared themselves to finish the beast off, and the Grimm ran forward with reckless abandon for one final, frenzied assault-

Only for Qrow to dash by with his scythe and cleave it clean in half.

He didn't even give the teens a chance to react before he flashed a subtle smirk back their way, still in a needlessly showy pose where he'd stopped. The sounds of gunfire and combat all around them started to fade into nothingness, and the streetlights returned to their prior blue coloration not too long after. The Grimm had been vanquished, and Qrow had punctuated the beginning of the end of the battle.

" _Boo!_ That was our kill!" Tenebris protested.

"That? Oh, sorry, thought you guys were struggling a little there so I came in to help." Qrow collapsed his weapon and placed it back on his belt, only to then walk by and deliver what Opal could only describe as the most self-satisfied shrug she'd ever seen. "Bad luck, I guess."

Tenebris shook his head. "Oh, you coy bastard…"

He moved to follow after the professional Huntsman, only for Lux to latch onto his arm. "Hey man, let him brag for now. We put in work, and that's what matters. Don't give him any more fuel to gloat about this later."

"Yeah, yeah…" Tenebris rolled his eyes. "But we would've been able to brag about taking down the boss Grimm ourselves if he didn't run in…"

Aurora planted the shaft of her naginata onto the ground. "I thought the purpose of the Sabyr kill competition was to earn bragging rights?"

"Yeah, how many Sabyr did each of us kill, anyway?" Lux asked. "I got like, five."

Opal sighed. "Two."

She didn't need two sets of ears to hear Tenebris suppress a short huff of amusement. "Ok, those are rookie numbers, but I guess not everyone call kick ass as much as me," he said in a confident tone. "While you two lovebirds were busy with your banter, I wrecked ten of those bastards' days. Feel free to rain praise down on me at your leisure."

"A lot of those were juvenile Grimm, Tenebris," Aurora pointed out.

"My statement stands."

"I don't think it does." Aurora shifted her hip and let her other hand rest on it, a small smirk on her face. "Thirteen."

Tenebris' face dropped. " _How?_ "

"Because I focused on the task at hand."

Lux snorted. "Ha. Guess Aurora's bragging rights, then."

His brother looked at him, a slightly uneasy look on his face. "Can we do a recount?"

Opal's expression conveyed her incredulity. "Of corpses made of ash that have already scattered in the wind. No, Tenebris, I don't think we can. Aurora won, fair and square."

"Not that I was focusing on petty competition…" Aurora trailed off.

"Mark my words, next time I'm going to blow all three of you out of the water," Tenebris said.

Lux nodded. "I'll be sure to remember that."

"Hey!" Ruby shouted loudly enough to draw everyone's attention to where she and her team were gathered. "Is everyone okay?"

Jaune gave a thumbs up. "JNPR's all together and just fine!"

"Iridescence is the same," Opal answered, only to hear one of her teammates huff in exaggerated annoyance under their breath. "Give or take a little bit of wounded pride on Tenebris' part."

" _Hey!_ "

"Like a few Grimm could take me down, kiddo," Qrow chuckled.

"I'm okay too." Oscar meandered closer to JNPR. "It's still going to take me a while to get used to the idea of doing stuff like this every day, though."

Nora hooked an arm around his neck and dragged him close to her chest. "Don't you worry, cute boy Oz! So long as we're all together, nothing's gonna happen to us! Promise!"

Oscar blushed and lightly pushed away from Nora to escape his awkward prison, only to take two more steps away for good measure. At the same time, Ren either didn't notice the accidental infraction or didn't care, his expression thoughtful as he holstered his weapons. Opal was quick to notice his unusual lack of perceptiveness, though Pyrrha was the first to approach and ask him about what was on his mind.

"Ren?" she started. "What is it?"

His gaze didn't come up from the ground. "We emerged victorious in this battle, but I'm merely concerned as to what the Grimm's ability to make it this far into the city might mean for Mantle. Oscar was likely right in his assumption that, for whatever reason, Mantle's city defenses aren't enough to keep the Grimm at bay, but that doesn't explain how such a large, coordinated pack of them can be found here on Solitas in the first place."

Weiss hummed. "Come to think of it, you're right. Grimm sightings have been lower on Solitas than any other landmass for as far back as when Mantle was first established on the continent. The cold's simply too inhospitable for most Grimm to even stand a chance of surviving long enough to pose a threat to people."

"Except for the Grimm that have either endured the weather long enough to become so strong it doesn't affect them or were old enough upon arrival to Solitas that it didn't pose a threat to them from the start," Lux continued, reminding Opal once again of the almost encyclopedic level of knowledge about the Grimm he'd always possessed. "Most of the ones we fought were either juvenile or adult Sabyrs with one leader among them. Even if we assume the adults and Alpha Sabyr were all old enough to have adapted, which is unlikely given how easily all of them went down, I think it's safe to say that there's a mass exodus of Grimm coming into Solitas because of the negativity here. Flood a continent with enough Grimm, and no matter how dangerous the weather is to most of them, a few are bound to beat the odds. The ones we faced could've just been one wave out of a bunch the city's had to deal with lately."

"Add in our 'package' and the one that should be up in Atlas Academy, and we've probably only made the situation worse," Qrow observed. "Damnit."

"That's why we need to talk to Ironwood or Winter as soon as possible!" Weiss declared, one of her hands balled into a fist at her side as the other pointed behind her up to Atlas. "The only way we can have any substantial impact here is to talk to the people whose duty it is to protect the kingdom first."

"Guys…?" Blake warily said.

As everyone's attention was drawn to the feline faunus of RWBY, only then did Opal notice the sound of an approaching trio of police vans back the way their group had come. They came into view only a few seconds later, lights on and their advance swift before each vehicle came to a halt a short distance away from the group of fighters. Out of each van emerged a pair of officers decorated in Atlesian uniforms, and although they were all only armed with simple rifles and were outnumbered three to one, any intimidation they may have felt was hidden masterfully behind the practiced, dutiful expressions on their faces.

"Great, Atlas police. Just what we needed…" Qrow grumbled. "You kids stay behind me and stay quiet. I'll handle this."

All the assembled fighters other than Qrow closed the gap between themselves to form a small crowd behind the Huntsman as he walked forward. Out of the middle van of the three, an Atlas official wearing a black trench coat instead of the typical uniform stepped into view. She had deep orange hair that was short from all angles save for a portion that hung long enough over her face to obscure her right eye, only adding to the unreadability of her demeanor and intent. One thing was for sure, though – she had to be the superior of the other armed officers that had assembled on either side of her.

"Halt."

Despite the oddly thick nature of her accent, Qrow easily interpreted the unspoken warning in that single word and stopped halfway between either assembled party. Wisely, he kept his hands in the air slightly in front of him in a placating fashion to avoid coming across as forceful. "Am I right to assume that you're the one in charge here?"

"I am," she responded simply.

"Got a name?"

A slight shake of the head. "My name is unimportant to you. If you must refer to me as anything, you may call me what my comrades do – sergeant."

"Okay. Sergeant. Can I ask what brings you to this part of Mantle?" Qrow continued, his tone as conversational and easy as he could manage. "If you're here to deal with the Grimm, we've already taken care of that issue."

"Our business here concerns you and your group. Atlas HQ detected the flight path deviation of an unannounced Manta airship and scrambled all available forces to locate those who had been flying the craft." Her eyes scanned like those of an emotionless machine over everyone behind Qrow. "Additionally, merely an hour after the disappearance of said aircraft, an incursion of Grimm occurs in this sector followed by the unauthorized use of weapons by very-clearly unlicensed Huntsmen. Do you deny these statements?"

Qrow tensed only slightly. "In part. If you'll allow me to pull out my scroll, I can show you proof that I'm permitted to defend the people here."

The sergeant pulled out their scroll with one hand, the other still behind her back. She tilted it toward Qrow and nodded. "You have my authorization to do this. Move slowly and there should be no issue. If all of your party members have scrolls as well, they are to display identification and activate free sharing of their information so that we may discern their validity."

"Alright guys, you heard her. Scrolls up."

Slowly but surely, everyone heeded the Atlesian official's command. Displaying their IDs and turning them around, all it took was for each of them to press a button to transfer copies of the information on their screens to the sergeant. Her scroll beeped when the copies had all been received, and for some reason, Opal felt her blood run a little colder as the stoic woman slowed to inspect a few names on her assembled list in particular. The sergeant's facial expression didn't budge when she put away her scroll and regarded Qrow again.

"Your credentials check out as genuine." She stood up a little straighter. "Answer this next question carefully. Regardless of your reasonably assumed connection to the issue of the unannounced Manta airship, do you take responsibility for the actions all trainees present in the defense of the city?"

"I do."

"Then given your suspected connection to the recently-arrived Manta and the unrequested deployment of your party to this sector of Mantle, you will all be brought in for an interview with General Ironwood directly," the sergeant said. "He has requested firsthand participation in any and all potential international issues, and you will be provided an armed escort until your time of arrival at his office. Any arguments?"

Qrow hid his surprise. "No, ma'am. I don't think you'll find that we have any."

The sergeant's lip tugged up into a ghost of a smirk, and Opal felt her heart drop. "Good. Blake Belladonna, Lux Griseo, and Opal Malachite – step forward for summary detention and observation, for the time being."

"Wait-"

" _Excuse_ me?!" Yang suddenly shouted out. "Why do our friends have to be taken away if we're just going to see Ironwood?"

Weiss stepped up beside her. "I agree. We've met the general – there's no way that he'd have someone operate that way."

"You are correct," the sergeant said. "These are not his terms. These are _my_ terms. There are some in Atlas HQ that would place their trust in the judgment of a faunus, such as the general himself, but in situations such as the one we find ourselves in, I am the one who has the authority to make the calls. Should you protest this decision of mine to ensure the safety of the general, I can easily call in reinforcements to take in your comrades by force. What is your decision?"

Qrow turned around, his eyes alternating between the three faunus of the group and very clearly struggling to hide his disgust at the sudden turn of events. "Hey. It's your guys' call. I won't argue with whatever you want us to do."

"I say we fight these bastards and bail," Tenebris spat, looking pointedly at Lux. "We can always find another way to get to the general now that we have Pietro on our side."

"But there's no guarantee he'll be able to do that for us, and we can't afford to make a scene in the middle of Mantle," Lux wearily pointed out. "We might have to go with them."

To everyone's surprise, Blake emerged first and started to walk toward the sergeant, her eyes squeezed shut as if each step was an ordeal. "Then let's get this over with."

Opal shared a look with her faunus partner. "I'm not leaving her alone."

"Neither am I," Lux said, and they followed after her before anyone else could protest.

When they stopped in front of the sergeant, Opal's stomach twisted into knots as the other woman's visible eye then conveyed the only obvious emotion she must have felt since she emerged from the van.

 _Satisfaction._

"Comrades. You know what to do."

The process of their 'detention' was everything Opal feared it would be like. Their weapons were confiscated, they were scanned for any hidden items, and their hands were cuffed in front of them with needless haste – but that wasn't the worst of it. As if being rendered helpless and arrested for no other reason than being a faunus was enough, the handcuffs proved to be only _one_ of the 'precautions' for transport the sergeant wished to employ. Shock collars with a thin band of electric dust in the middle of the metal restraint were snapped onto each of their necks, and never before had Opal felt more degraded in her life.

An officer climbed back into the middle van and turned it around so that its doors could more ominously face its soon-to-be prisoners. It wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say that Opal felt her soul dim as she was unceremoniously guided into the back of the van. Her boyfriend and her closest friend from Team RWBY then joined her, and by the dark looks in their eyes, she could easily tell they felt the same way.

She then noticed the tension Tenebris seemed to radiate as of now. After being forced to watch his loved ones be treated like animals, it appeared as though his strong heart would guide him before his head, and a dangerous glint appeared in his eye as he stepped out of line. Before he could come close enough for anyone to comment though, Aurora latched firmly onto his arm and Lux quickly looked at his brother, Tenebris' expression making it clear that he was on the verge of going ballistic.

"Don't," Lux tiredly warned. "We'll be fine."

" _Fine?_ You're in cuffs and collars and you're going to be _fine?_ " Tenebris stressed. "Don't lie to me, man. Say the word and-"

Opal shot him a pointed look. "And what? You guys fight for our freedom and we all become enemies of the state? We can't afford to do that. Trust us."

"But…"

Squeezing his arm to signal for his silence, Aurora answered on his behalf. "For your guys' sake, we'll try our best, but we're still going to worry about you. I think I speak for all of us when I say none of us like what you three have had to do."

The faunus leader of Iridescence returned an appreciative nod to her friend, trying her best to put on a brave face for her allies. Four of the Atlesian officers then returned to the vans on either side of the one the faunus trio had been placed in, and Blake shrank further in on herself, ears wilting as she looked numbly at the floor. None of her teammates appeared to miss her reaction.

"We'll get you guys out as soon as we can!" Yang called out.

Blake looked at her.

"And that's a promise."

"Thanks," Blake quietly said.

Signaling the last pair of officers near the van with a nod, the sergeant marched back toward the front of the van, and the doors of the van slammed shut without any further notice. The vehicle's engine rumbled back to life not too long after that, and the Atlesian officers set out with their impromptu prisoners in tow. Without the need to keep up appearances for their friends, the three faunus slowly deflated in their seats.

Amidst the dim light in the rear of the van, Lux's eyes seemed to glow amber. "Well… this is more like the warm welcome I was expecting."

Opal nodded at him in agreement but said nothing. She glanced at Blake, who had her knees tucked up to her chest in one corner of the van away from Lux and herself and let out a sigh. She had lived many of her formative years slightly removed from the unbridled and illogical racism that most of her kind endured, but now that she'd been forced to suffer through it herself… the issue hit far closer to home than she would've liked. In the absence of her most basic freedom of movement and the weapon she considered to be the greatest thing she'd ever forged, there wasn't all that much she could do.

So instead, to pass the time until they were inevitably thrown in some sterile cell alongside one another, Opal closed her eyes and tried to ignore the cold sensation of the metal that hugged all too tightly against her flesh.

* * *

The sergeant, living pile of trash molded into the vague shape of a self-satisfied bastard of a woman, was true to her word. Shortly after her departure, several more police vans came along to take the rest of the gang up into the clouds. One swift ride in the vans followed by a smooth and efficient flight into the city of Atlas proper later, and they'd arrived at Atlas Academy without any issue. Despite the constant, vigilant presence of armed guards on all sides as they were brought up to the level of the academy that housed Ironwood's office, they were even allowed to keep their weapons on them. The technological grandeur of the city laid itself bare in all its glory everywhere one looked when they first landed, but Tenebris paid none of it any mind whatsoever.

Instead, when the door to Ironwood's office came into view, he focused all of his energy into each step he took at the head of the pack, eager to unleash his wrath on whatever unfortunate soul he had to so that his friends would be freed. The escort around the group eventually slowed and allowed them to move the rest of the way to Ironwood's office themselves, and Tenebris took advantage of this freedom to stalk directly up to the pair of guards stationed on either side of the office door. They wore identical armor with helmets that obscured their faces, the only difference between the two of them being the red and blue stripes on their respective suits of armor. It'd be a lie of Tenebris said he didn't feel some satisfaction in how they tensed slightly when he approached.

The red-striped guard recovered first. "We've been made aware that the general has been expecting your group, so I'll make this brief. Both your armed escort, myself, and my colleague here will remain outside the office – as per the general's request –to offer you privacy, but we will not hesitate to come to his aid if you try anything. Show respect to him and you may be able to escape the charges you've potentially incurred. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Tenebris bit out. "But we're not going anywhere until our friends are _right here_ with us. You couldn't _make_ me step into that room until they're set free."

"Excuse me?"

Aurora stepped in front of him. "What my friend here is trying to say is that we came here with three more friends of ours, but they were detained for completely unjustifiable reasons. We want them to be let go and with us before we see the general."

The blue-striped guard looked at her. "Under whose authority was the arrest made? And you mentioned unjustifiable reasons – we need further elaboration before we do anything to help your friends, ma'am. I highly doubt that they were placed under arrest without good cause, as you seem to believe."

"Good cause?" Yang echoed, crossing her arms. "So I'm guessing that you two goons must hate faunus as much as that sergeant lady who arrested our friends, then. Great."

"Sergeant…" the blue guard exchanged a brief look with his colleague. "Oh, gods, your group had a run-in with _her?_ My apologies, but I'm afraid that the officer you're referring to has a bit of a track record for overreacting when it comes to incidents involving those she assumes to be dangerous. It just so happens that her definition of 'dangerous' tends to include most faunus she encounters. As a member of the general's honor guard, I'd like to extend my apologies for the treatment of your associates."

"Yeah, thanks," Tenebris deadpanned. "But it'd sure be a lot better if they weren't arrested _in the first place._ "

The red guard nodded. "Which is why we'll personally deliver your request to the general. With any luck, your friends will be released without any further delay and brought here as soon as possible. Now, if it's alright with you, we'll be right back."

Both of the formal pair stood up straighter, their rifles held close to their chest and their movements perfectly synchronized as they turned on their heels and entered the mostly moonlit office. Had Tenebris been more perceptive or in the mood to pay attention, he could've caught a glimpse of the general himself, but instead his gaze remained intense and stuck firmly to the pair of guards as the door sealed shut behind them. He wouldn't let himself relax until his brother, Blake, and Opal were all standing right next to him.

And even then, he wouldn't let his guard down. He wouldn't let bygones be bygones – not here in Atlas. Not where such discrimination was implemented with flagrant disregard for human decency nor respect for others.

"Well… that went better than expected, heh," Ruby idly mentioned, trying to diffuse the tension that hovered over everyone in the hallway.

"You could say that…" Weiss hesitantly agreed.

"Sure, you could." Tenebris crossed his arms. "You could also say that those two honor guards are just playing damage control for that asshole down in Mantle. They can apologize all they want for what happened, but the fact of the matter is that it did happen. I won't forget that any time soon."

Aurora's expression became warped with concern. "But they're going to be set free now. Do you really think that letting this much bitterness fester is anything but a bad thing? Mantle is probably in enough danger without us adding any more negativity to the mix."

He let out a grumble. "You aren't wrong, but everything about what they've been put through is outright sinister. If people are treated like criminals after fighting to protect the people of Mantle all because they're faunus, then maybe there's a reason why the White Fang became as violent as they were. Five minutes in Atlas and I already hate this place. The technology's great and all, but this kingdom's rotten."

"No arguments there," Weiss said.

"Tenebris."

He turned his attention back to his teammate. "Yeah?"

"Once they're back and with us again, hopefully unharmed…" Aurora paused. "We _will_ let them make the calls about this kind of thing in the future, right? We can't decide on their behalf how to handle these things all the time. Not when we can't really relate to what they've had to go through as faunus."

He took a moment to compose his answer. "Sure. I'll follow their lead so long as they want to take us in a direction that I think I can follow."

"They haven't let us down before," Aurora gently mentioned.

A short breath punched out of his nostrils. "Yeah. You've got that right."

* * *

Within the cell she'd been placed together in for 'observation' for an undefined period, there wasn't all that much for Opal to look at. Blake and Lux were nearby, both as miserable and disheartened as she was – the former on the opposite wall of the rectangular cell and the latter a few feet to her right. Neither they nor Opal herself had spoken a word since their arrival. The rest of the cell was a collection of dark metal flooring, bars, and an uncomfortable bench no one wanted to sit on fixed to the wall with both bolts and metal chains at an angle. There may have been a metaphor Opal could've made between the sterile yet sleek nature of their cell and the utterly hideous reason they'd been brought here, but she was in no mind to waste her breath mentioning it. Idle conversation wasn't something she'd indulge in while she was being constantly reminded of her race's institutional oppression by the shock collar around her neck.

Not even a few hours ago Opal had decided that she'd approach the situation the faunus in Atlas faced as each situation demanded it. Now, with an all-too-present understanding of how much a faunus could expect to suffer in Atlas based on traits they never decided to have, she understood that her previous plan could be properly pronounced dead. She didn't know what she'd do when she was freed and with her friends again, but she'd think of some way to help the faunus in the twin cities of Solitas. She didn't harbor any delusions of grandeur, and thus didn't expect whatever she did to help to gain as much traction as the White Fang had in any of its incarnations, but she had to at least try to do _something._

One more look at Blake and Lux convinced her again of that. Never before had she seen them so devoid of their typical, distinct demeanors. When Blake had been elbow-deep in her obsessive investigation of the White Fang in Vale, she'd still been thoughtful and poetic to a fault when she could be found with her team – now she'd curled up in a ball, desperate to try and block out the depravity of their situation. When Lux had been on his knees pleading for Opal to return to her normal self after months of depression and secretive training, he'd still been considerate and even somewhat charming despite his sadness – now he sat stock still, a stoic look on his face as his eagle eyes burned a hole in the floor in front of him.

Opal didn't even want to consider how drained she too must have looked, right now. That said, she did know of one thing that she wanted to do while they all waited for their hopeful release.

Break the silence of their cell. "Blake? Lux?"

They tilted their heads in her direction.

"We'll get through this. Yang, Tenebris, Aurora… I'm sure all of them are fighting to get us out of here right now," she offered. "And once we're out of here, we'll be with them again, and be back on track to making sure our mission gets done. Maybe after that, we'll be able to… I don't know, maybe even help the faunus in the kingdom here, somehow."

"Maybe…" Blake murmured; her arms still wrapped around her knees – their handcuffs had thankfully been removed when they were put in the cell. "But even if we are let go and allowed to see Ironwood with everyone… we still might be the lucky ones, being here."

Lux glanced at her. "How do you figure?"

"Well, think of it this way – we're being held in a cell that's probably heavenly compared to the living conditions faunus miners and laborers live in, waiting to be released. Most faunus that end up being 'detained' in Atlas end up financially ruined and left with no other choice than to commit to backbreaking labor just to survive. And that's just _one_ example of the injustices faunus have to face as the 'lesser race' of the kingdom."

"If what we're experiencing now is the best treatment we could've expected to get…" Opal paused, eyes darting around in thought. "I don't want to think of what the worst possible scenarios could've been, for us."

"Indentured servitude?" Lux suggested. "Atlesian bureaucrats and businessfolk _love_ to have a bunch of faunus serving them hand and foot."

Blake shrugged slightly, but her expression remained bleak. "That's one possibility. Another, Opal's already encountered firsthand. Faunus that step out of line are often written off as 'problem individuals' that needs to be taught a lesson. I don't think I need to describe what one of those lessons might be."

Images of the brand Adam had borne during her desperate clash against him flashed to the forefront of Opal's thoughts. Even then, the sight of the SDC snowflake burnt eternally into the flesh over one of his eyes had been enough to make her stomach sink and her blood run cold. Being reminded of the thing that had thrown her off and spelled the start of her slow defeat at Adam's hands less than a day after the incident had occurred still easily incurred a similar reaction in Opal's chest. Lux hadn't even been there to see the brand firsthand, and even he paused when he realized the implication behind Blake's words.

"When I was a part of the White Fang…" Blake continued. "It wasn't all that often that our operations went south, not with Adam or Sienna or Ilia around, but… sometimes they did. Some of our people would be captured, only for us to find them on a completely unrelated operation months later in any number of conditions. Some of them were physically scarred, others were just scared at how alone they felt… more than a few of them had their spirits broken. One of my greatest fears for the longest time was ending up like one of them. And here we are, in the middle of the kingdom that's been the source of so much pain for our people, suffering just as they have. Even if it's in a less severe way than what so many others have had to go through… all of this reminds me why violence became the main goal of the White Fang in the first place."

"I… can't imagine what that must've been like for you, Blake," Opal gently said, her ears slightly wilting in sorrow. "I'm sorry that you're in this situation now."

She looked at the floor. "Don't be. I knew this was what we'd have to do so that we could avoid making a scene. That's all."

"Right…" Opal paused for a moment. "You know, it's okay for you to say that you aren't alright with everything that's going on with us, right now. You don't have to sit on the other side of this cell by yourself. We're your friends. We're all in this together."

Blake's guarded posture relaxed faded somewhat, and her eyes softened ever so slightly as they met Opal's again. She stood and wordlessly walked over to the other side of the cell, letting out a weary sigh as she let herself slide down between her pair of faunus friends. "Thanks."

Opal put on a small, companionable smile. "Not a problem, Blake. Back in Argus, you saved my life by leading Adam away. It's the least I can do to give you a little companionship when you're having such a rough time."

"Look at you, being all nice," Lux quietly complimented.

She shot him a look. "And I'm not normally?"

While Lux chuckled as heartily as he could given their current situation, Opal noticed a ghost of a smile appear on Blake's lips, and thus let the matter die with a roll of her eyes. If she could lessen the burden that weighed so harshly on one of her friends' shoulders for even a moment, she'd gladly endure whatever clever comments her boyfriend teased her with from time to time.

"Hey, guys?" Blake began. "I know this isn't exactly the lightest topic we can talk about right now, but… is it okay if I ask you guys something?"

Lux shrugged. "Sure."

"Of course," Opal encouraged.

"What _exactly_ was it like being faunus where you two grew up?" Blake glanced at both of them as she asked the question. "Most of my experiences with the fight for faunus equality always came from Menagerie, Atlas, and Vale. I've never been to Vacuo, so all I know about the faunus there are rumors, and when we were in Mistral it's not like I was there long enough to get much of a read on things there, either."

Lux gazed at her; his curiosity regarding her question plain to see on his face. "Why do you want to know? If you don't me asking."

"Oh, it's not a problem at all," Blake quickly assured. "I'm just curious, is all. I've always wanted to know as much as possible about how the faunus get along all across the world. Part of me thinks that I'd be able to better fight for the rights of faunus all around Remnant if I better understood how their lives differ. If anyone would be able to help me understand the lives of faunus in Mistral and Vacuo, it'd be you two, and since we have nothing but time to talk… I figured now would be a good time to ask."

He leaned back against the wall. "Good point. I guess I'll start, then. Faunus in Vacuo… all the rumors you've probably heard about back home are probably right. Scoundrels and thieves abound and the only bastion of order in the entire kingdom is Shade Academy itself. To be honest, faunus aren't treated that differently from anyone else there. You have koala ears? Snake fangs? Whoop-dee-doo – the only way you gain respect is if you're strong enough to survive. It doesn't matter what you are. That's all that matters."

"That… almost sounds like a paradise," Blake mentioned. "I wonder why the White Fang never made a base of operations there, then."

"I never really paid attention to them before I met you, but… I think they did, at one point." Lux recalled. "Before my parents even met. The groups they sent ahead weren't too hardy though, so they were sure surprised when they realized how hard it is to get by in Vacuo unless you're prepared for the chaos there. Their operation fell apart _hard._ Honestly, a lot of faunus end up in Vacuo expecting it to be a less cramped version of Menagerie, but… it never works out that way. Strength is what matters. It's why when a bigot from another kingdom comes walking into Vacuo and pretends they're hot enough stuff to pick on a faunus, eight times out of ten they end up getting beat down and mugged."

"Oh..."

Lux smirked. "It's a hard life. Be sure to have Tenebris or me around if you ever want to get a taste of Vacuo for yourself. That enough information for you?"

"I think so," Blake figured. "All that's left for me to learn a little more about is Mistral now, then."

The pair's attention drifted expectantly to Opal, who hummed thoughtfully as she crossed her legs in a meditative pose under her. "Where to begin… well, making sure you guys understand the class system back home first would probably be a good idea. Even today, there's still a very distinct two-class system in Mistral. The upper class of society is typically known for masterful architecture, theater, fashion, and craftsmanship, while the lower class is commonly composed of the other seventy percent of society… including vast criminal organizations. While it isn't unheard of for there to be upper-class clans comprised of faunus, more often than not, most of the most distinguished clans in the kingdom are all strictly made up of humans. That's why more than a few people often criticized the Malachite Clan – because we accepted people of all races into our fold without question. Faunus aren't inherently seen as strictly worthy of contempt by default in Mistral, it's just that… there's a stereotype for us to be more commonly associated with poverty and impurity than anything."

"More than in any of the other kingdoms, I'm guessing," Blake said.

"Right," Opal confirmed with a bob of her head. "But it doesn't help that a lot of that perception also comes from the large amount of faunus involved in Mistral's criminal underbelly. Before the attack on Haven, it'd be almost impossible to convince a member of an upstanding human clan than the majority of faunus were anything other than dirty thieves and criminals. Now that your parents' part of the White Fang has come along, though… I like to think there's hope for the faunus back home. Things certainly seemed to be looking up when we left, at any rate."

"All that was surprisingly insightful, Opal. Thank you." Blake wrapped her arms around her legs again, though this time she was nowhere near as guarded as she'd been before. "You know, maybe one day I'll turn everything I've learned about the world and turn it into a book. Once we somehow find a way to stop _her_ for good, anyway."

"You have what it takes," Lux observed. "If I remember right, you were always a pretty good student when it came to writing papers. I'm sure you could spin your travels around the world into something useful for the faunus, if you tried."

Opal hummed in agreement. "Definitely."

An unfamiliar voice outside their cell jabbed into their conversation. "Alright, grand aspirations are great and all, but could you guys talk about that kind of dumb stuff when you're out of my earshot?" the male voice questioned. "Seriously, if you faunus want to plan to 'make some changes' in Atlas, great, just don't do it when you're in a holding cell."

Throwing an annoyed glare at the guard, Lux huffed. "Says the military goon who's been posted outside our cell. Something tells me that if your higher-ups thought you'd be more useful out in the field; your bigot ass wouldn't be here."

"Get stuffed," the guard insulted. "As if a dumbass faunus like you could ever understand how the Atlas military runs. Watching prisoners is just something everyone does every once in a while. If I had the remote for your collars I'd teach you a lesson for giving me that kind of lip."

A hiss of air that indicated the door at the end of the hall sliding open prevented any more verbal barbs from being exchanged. A far more sophisticated, mature male voice followed. "I see that your several hours of guard duty has done nothing to tame your temper. For the gods' sake, man, grow a thicker skin."

"Warden!"

The warden himself then stepped promptly into view in front of the cell and looked down upon his subordinate. He was taller than the younger guard before him, sporting what looked like a sea captain's hat on his head with the emblem of Atlas emblazoned onto it, a well-groomed beard that had turned white with age, and deep blue eyes that perfectly conveyed the power he possessed. "Say you did shock these faunus for the slightest of infractions. If even one of them has a good enough lawyer to make a stink about their treatment at your hands, _I'm_ the one who gets grilled. Cause trouble for your more permanent superior officer, not me, or there'll be hell to pay. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the guard immediately shouted.

He motioned with his chin back toward the faunus trio. "Good. Then without further delay, we'll be unlocking our guests' cell and relieving them of their collars. They're free to go."

Blake, Opal, and Lux let their relief silently appear on their faces. Meanwhile, the youthful guard set to work on punching in a code into the numpad he'd been guarding, his confusion evident in his voice. "Well, that was quick. Who in the gods' names do these guys know to get them out of detention only an hour or two after they got here?"

The guard provided his superior the keys to their collars when he extended an expectant hand toward him, and the warden motioned for his prisoners to rise. "General Ironwood."

"Oh, _shit._ "

"Watch your tongue," the warden warned. Returning his attention to the faunus, he took a few steps closer and unlocked their collars one by one. "My apologies for the delay in the speed of your release. We only recently received word from HQ that the general himself requested your release, but since his honor guard were the ones who notified us of his decision, we merely wanted to make sure the orders checked out."

The elderly man walked back out of the cell to hand off the collars to his subordinate, and Opal massaged the back of her neck in relief. "That's fine. If it's alright to ask, what happens next?"

"What happens next is that you'll be provided an armed escort to the general's office," the warden explained. "Since your IDs checked out, we'll also return your scrolls and weapons to you on our way out. Please refrain from acting in any suspicious manner when they're given back to you, and the personnel I've assembled to escort you shouldn't prove obstructive to your trip. For both of our sakes, I made sure none of them are as, shall we say, 'spirited' as my young friend here."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Lux commented.

"Me too," Blake agreed.

The warden nodded. "Good. Now, if there are no further comments or concerns, please follow me out of the building. I'll be sure to get you all out of here post-haste."

* * *

Thankfully, with the warden taking it upon himself to make sure the three faunus were treated as fairly as possible on their way out of the prison, the trio ran into not another single instance of trouble concerning their race. Their scrolls were returned to them first, and their weapons followed soon after upon their boarding the airship that'd take them to Atlas Academy. The warden had stayed behind at his post, of course, but none of the guards he'd left them with on their flight spoke a word to the three faunus on the airship after takeoff. A total of eight guards sat on either side of the seats at the back of the airship and two pilots sat in the cockpit, but with Emerald at her side and her freedom returned to her, Opal felt more relieved now than she'd been at any point since her arrival in Atlas. Judging by the thoughtful yet calm look on Lux's face, he was in a similar state of mind to her.

Blake was another story. On account of their flight taking them on a path through a majority of the city to more quickly reach their destination, everyone on the airship had a clear view of all Atlas had to offer. Pristine skyscrapers stood tall as far as the eye could see, split up only by high-tech modes of mass transit and the occasional mountaintop mansion. Everything seemed larger than life and dazzling up in the city, and the megalithic shield generators that lined the landmass that made up Atlas itself only added to the sensation. Had Opal not been subjected to the discrimination she suffered through such a short time ago, she would've probably seen the city as the sensational superpower the kingdom always wanted to sell itself as being. Blake glared down at Atlas in such a way that made her contempt for the place clear.

"'Behold a city that was built by human ingenuity,'" she recited. "'Utopian by all appearances and the technological marvel of the modern world, Atlas alone has endeavored to set the standard for what all kingdoms should aspire to look like. Yet not all is as what it seems in such a perfect paradise. Beneath every smooth stone block and defensive turret on the border of Atlas lays the blood of unfortunate faunus who toiled to the bone and beyond to complete a project that should have taken generations in mere years, instead.'"

Lux looked at her. "Where'd you get all that from?"

"An old philosophical paper I read when we were still at Beacon." Blake's eyes never left the city below. "It's not too often people write about how the efforts to build Atlas and raise it into the air were completed so quickly because of faunus labor. Not too many people care to read about it, either."

"Doesn't surprise me," Lux commented. "Mantle was the capital of a kingdom back in the day, and Atlas was built practically next door to the place in no time at all. There's no way you can build a city that's going to go up into the sky so quickly in any humane way."

"It makes you wonder if Mantle treated the faunus as badly as Atlas does now," Opal said.

Blake didn't respond for a moment. "Probably, but considering that Mantle's been in a state of decline ever since the first powerful families in Atlas started to monopolize every part of their lives, I can't imagine that their views of the faunus have gotten any better over the years. People always want to direct their hatred somewhere, and the faunus have been easy targets throughout history."

"Hopefully that'll change, someday," Lux murmured.

"Maybe."

Silence slowly returned to the trio after that. Quiet contemplation became the unspoken task each of the faunus assigned themselves in light of the mood shift in the airship, and Opal elected to let her mind wander. Rather than focus her attention inward, however, she let her eyes roam the city streets and the many signs that clung to the skyscrapers of Atlas in search of some stimulation.

Her efforts quickly bore fruit. On one sign, in particular, a young woman with tanned skin and violet eyes was displayed. Her light-blonde hair was tied in a ponytail fluffier than Opal's own, and she had two beauty marks beneath her right eye and another on the left side beneath her mouth. She wore a dutiful yet confident smile on her face, and text above her head read _'Vote Robyn Hill.'_ Beneath her neck, where the display cut off her body, laid her slogan.

 _Liberty, justice, and safety for all._

By all appearances, the would-be councilwoman didn't possess any visible faunus traits – and in a place as discriminatory as Atlas, Opal somehow doubted that a faunus would ever gain enough traction in a political campaign to be given a sign with their face on it. That meant that Robyn had to be human. A human whose slogan implied that whatever her motivation was, she wasn't about to let the faunus continue to be crushed underneath the bootheel as they had been for decades in the past. The idea that a political candidate had the explicit intent to fight for her people gave Opal mixed feelings.

On one hand, this Robyn person might very well be the only human – the only _person_ – in Atlas who had the potential to help the faunus. The power that she could gain if she became one of the privileged few who sat on the council could, potentially, change the lives of millions.

On the other hand, her slogan could very easily be a ploy to dupe the faunus citizens of Mantle to vote for her instead of someone else. Experience had taught Opal well that the world of politics was one built upon foundations of deceit and the blatant manipulation of others.

As the large sign faded into the distance behind the airship and Atlas Academy came into view, for the sake of her people, Opal prayed that Robyn would turn out to be as selfless and altruistic and she made herself out to be.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Well, this took a turn, eh? So much for being able to escape the discrimination of Atlas. Anyway! The sergeant and the warden… two characters I had no intent to name, yet still loved to include anyway. For some reason, I felt like throwing in some random characters to flesh out Atlas a little more would be more effective than the mere environmental 'storytelling' we got in Volume 7 of RWBY canon.**

 **Speaking of canon, I'm slowly giving less and less of a toot about the canon Team RWBY as I write this fic. What this will mean in the future is still up in the air, but you can bet your butts that RWBY ain't gonna be the focus of this volume of ToTI, given some of my plans for the future of this volume. Next chapter the meeting with Ironwood happens, and who knows? Maybe something there will change the dynamic the three main teams share.**

 **Maybe.**


	23. Volume 7 - A New Approach

It didn't take too much longer after Opal noticed the political signage in Atlas for the faunus trio to arrive at the city's academy. Sat atop a precisely cut plateau whose grandeur could've only been the labor of untold thousands of workers, Atlas Academy made many of the skyscrapers in the rest of the city around it seem small by comparison. One of the four great communications towers that could be found on Remnant doubled as the gargantuan greater half of the academy thanks to its scale, but three smaller towers around it and several floors beneath it bolstered the amount of room the academy had to work with. As the most well-funded and technologically advanced Huntsman Academy in the world, it certainly gave off a strong enough aura of strength from its appearance alone that the place could easily be assumed to be one of the highlights of the kingdom, even to those who'd never paid much attention to the world around them.

But for all of its impressive tech and intimidating size, Opal couldn't help but have her opinion of the place sullied by the knowledge Blake had imparted unto her on their flight there. How many faunus broke their backs due to the undoubtedly brutal workload they were given while it was under construction? Under normal circumstances, how many decades would it have taken to safely erect such a monument to mankind's power and will to protect itself from annihilation?

How many faunus _died_ in the making of Atlas Academy?

As they landed, that final question rang so loud in the back of Opal's mind that she had to fight back the urge to hurl. She didn't want to consider the nauseating number of lives that had been lost in the process of constructing one of Remnant's four bastions of defense against the Grimm, lest she lose what little food remained in her stomach from long before she ever left Argus. Furthermore, she didn't want to boil the brutality her fellow faunus must have suffered through into another statistic. If she did that, intentionally or not, she'd be embracing just a little bit of the same attitude an upper-class Atlesian family would possess about her people's plight. She couldn't lower herself to their level for even a moment.

So instead, she put on a brave face as her queasiness subsided and marched out of the airship right alongside Blake, Lux, and their armed escort.

The rest of their journey up to where Ironwood's office would be located continued in silence. In that time, the only person Opal interacted with the entire way was Lux; but even then, their exchange only went so far as a pair of simple and tired nods at one another. Neither of them needed to speak with words to know that they'd both be much better once they were with their friends again. Even if they'd still be in the epicenter of the most impressive yet inhumane military complex of a kingdom on Remnant, they'd at least be together. They'd feel safe.

It was then that the high-speed elevator they and their accompanying personnel had been packed into started to slow down. Opal heaved a silent sigh of relief and felt the tension in her shoulders dissolve as her reunion with her friends came closer. Nevertheless, she gripped the sheath of her katana tighter to steady herself just a little bit more.

Her ears twitched as an out-of-place _ding_ sounded in her ears, and the elevator doors slid open.

It didn't even take two seconds for Aurora and Tenebris to be the first people that turned around to face their teammates once again. Aurora's mouth fell agape in relief and she held her naginata at her side as she hastily started in Opal's direction. Tenebris looked uncharacteristically broody but heaved a sigh and slowly followed after his teammate to reunite with his brother. Blake and her teammates simultaneously moved to intercept one another whilst JNPR stayed at the end of the hall and merely watched.

Aurora arrived first, wrapping her arms around Opal in a hug the moment she'd closed the gap, her blue eyes filled with worry. "Opal. It's… good to see you again."

She returned the gesture. "Same here."

Eventually, Aurora pulled back. "If you don't mind my asking… how was it? Or, I mean, are you okay? Did they-"

"Don't worry. I'm fine," Opal reassured. "Physically, at least. We weren't hurt, just locked up in a cell. It wasn't all that easy to just sit there since we knew _why_ we were arrested, but we got through it together."

"Well…" Aurora paused. "That's good to hear, I suppose."

"Right. I think I learned a thing or two about Atlas when we were stuck in there, too," Opal added, only to continue when Aurora gave her an odd look. "I learned that no matter what happens when we speak to Ironwood, we can't forget about what we had to go through. Not for our sakes, but for the sake of all the faunus across Atlas that are suffering because of how this kingdom was built."

Right as Aurora was about to respond, she cut herself off and stepped to the side to make room for the twins to have their reunion. Tenebris and Lux greeted each other in a strong one-armed hug, and the former patted his brother on the back once before he pulled back, his grip shifting to rest on his faunus brother's shoulder.

"How're you holding up?" Tenebris asked.

Lux shrugged. "Well enough. Still got a crick in my neck from that collar being clasped like a vice onto me, but I'll live."

"Well, I guess that's the best I could've expected to hear, so… good enough." Tenebris threw a subtle look over his brother's shoulder to the guards that had joined the rest in the hall. "I hope those bastards didn't give you any trouble on your way here. If they did, I'll give Ironwood hell – you just say the word."

"Trust me, they didn't, but speaking of Ironwood…" Lux's gaze scanned across the rest of the teammates. "What's our plan, exactly? We got out of prison on his order, sure, but that doesn't mean he's trustworthy."

"So, about that…" Ruby cut in, and all eyes in Iridescence swapped to the leader of RWBY to find her hand intertwined with Blake's. "I'm on the same page as you guys. I don't know what we should tell him. All I'm sure of is that if we're careful about what we say, we'll probably come out of this alright."

Opal nodded. "The last thing we want to do is make the general our enemy right now, so I'm on the same page as you, Ruby. I'll follow your lead."

"And we'll follow yours, Opal," Tenebris said.

All assembled teams then turned their attention back to the red-and-blue pair of honor guards that stood at the door leading to Ironwood's office and slowly advanced. One last apology to all the faunus present concerning their treatment and a final reminder to mind themselves when speaking to Ironwood later, and the door to the general's office hissed open.

Opal would be a liar if she didn't feel a little anxious as she crossed the threshold.

* * *

The very first thing Opal noticed about the atmosphere inside the mostly empty, moonlit office was how _cold_ it felt. Not in terms of temperature, but rather the unspoken impact the words and actions taken in this singular space had on the rest of Atlas and, as a result, Remnant. Ironwood's office hadn't always belonged to him, nor the general before him, but it had always been one of the few places in the world that carried enough weight with its mere existence that those with less sturdy constitutions would break out into a cold sweat if they were brought to the place. Yet here she and all of her friends were, armed and ready to exchange words with one of – if not _the_ most – powerful men on Remnant.

Somehow, the charismatic and empathetic Ironwood that had shown his face to the students stuck at the Amity Colosseum felt like he was a million miles away even though his body could be found standing upright just behind his desk. Opal imagined her recent treatment and the vast unknowns concerning the general had something to do with that feeling.

To her left, she noticed Weiss stand up a little straighter as her eyes immediately found her elder sister's. Winter nodded in an almost invisible way to indicate that she had indeed noticed her sister's presence among her party. Neither of the Schnees broke the silence of the room with words, but their mutual relief at seeing each other once again remained clear.

Ironwood's lips tilted up in a small smile. "To start, I'd like you all to know that I speak from my heart when I say it's _so_ good to see all of you again. Especially after what happened at Beacon all those months ago."

Opal kept her expression neutral as she and Iridescence stopped toward the right side of the room. "No offense, sir, but… we didn't get that impression when we arrived here. We fought to protect the citizens of Mantle from the Grimm and some of us were arrested even though we only did what any other Huntsmen-in-training would have done."

"And for that, you have my sincerest apologies," Ironwood said, a hand over his heart while the other remained behind him. "I worked to become the general of Atlas to protect the people, no matter their race – not cover for my subordinates' bias. However, when a rogue airship entered our airspace, it set off some red flags. We assumed the ship was stolen."

"Stolen?" Ruby nervously echoed. "Okay yeah, it was stolen."

While Ironwood's shoulders rose and fell in a silent chuckle, Winter's air of professionalism and ease dropped like a stone. In its place, a wave of concern and faint frustration fell over her face as she marched toward her younger sister. "You _stole_ an Atlas airship? What were you thinking?! Do you have any idea what that could've meant for you if the general decided your ship might have been a threat? You could've been shot down! How unbelievable irresponsibl-"

Her tirade was cut short as Weiss' arms wrapped around her. "I'm sorry, Winter. I didn't want us to worry you, but… we didn't have any other choice. We did what we had to do to get here."

"I…" Winter's tension shakily faded away and she hugged her sister close. "I suppose I understand. The world isn't often kind to those who are driven enough to see their missions through, no matter what."

"I'm glad you understand," Weiss expressed.

"After what you've probably been through, it's the least I could do." Winter held loosely onto her sister's arm as she stepped back to glare at the only licensed Huntsman in their party. "But I cannot _believe_ that you allowed this to happen, Qrow."

He responded with an easy shrug. "You try to stop these kids when they have their mind set on something – see how that works out for you. But speaking of which… we have some important news for the general. Confidential stuff."

With one last nod toward Weiss, Winter ascended back up the few steps it took to return to her superior's side. "I'm going to assume that this 'confidential news' has something to do with the Winter Maiden. Or perhaps the Relics. Am I correct?"

"To answer any of your concerns before they crop up, the Winter Maiden might be elderly, but she's been stable for the past couple of weeks, and the Relic has remained secure for as long as it's been in our Vault," Ironwood elaborated.

Qrow's mouth fell agape. "You told her?"

"Qrow. Did you really think that you were the only ones who got to work on a new plan after Beacon? Ever since Ozpin's been gone, I've been alone in this, and Winter is the _only_ person I've ever truly trusted enough to call my right hand. I entrusted her with the secret of what we're dealing with as a result, because in the scenario that I was eliminated…" Ironwood paused and blew out a breath through his nose. "If everyone was still out of contact at that time, Atlas would still need someone to protect it from _her._ Winter was the best option then, but now, with all of us here and the Relic of Knowledge in tow… we stand a chance."

While he gestured to the lamp on Ruby's hip, Nora narrowed her eyes at him. It didn't go unnoticed, and Ironwood regarded her in particular when he continued. "I know how this all looks. Recalling my military? The embargo? The forces in Mantle? I probably don't seem like the most trustworthy person in the world, right now."

"Then why continue to operate as you have all this time?" Blake questioned.

"Can't you see the people of Mantle are miserable because of you?" Aurora added.

Ironwood looked at them. "I created the embargo to assure that Salem wouldn't be able to infiltrate Atlas. I wanted my military here to protect the people."

Lux scoffed. "You call oppression _protecting_ people? They all hate you."

"That's a price I'm willing to pay," Ironwood explained. He tapped a holographic button atop his desk, and the room started to change. Shutters came down over the windows, darkening the room while a circle in the center of the floor bearing Atlas' emblem began to rise, prompting RWBY to spread out. As the table slowed to its final position, Ironwood walked toward it. "Just as you all have been entrusted with the knowledge of Salem's existence, I need you all to trust _me._ I have a plan."

"Okay… what is it?" Oscar asked, uncertain.

Ironwood stopped in front of the table. "I was getting to that, but first, some history. Ozpin has indeed held back Salem for centuries, always keeping victory out of her grasp, but Ozpin also believed the best way to do so was doing it in secret. Whether or not that was the right choice isn't for me to say, but it's undeniable that we find ourselves in need of, well, a new approach."

"And what do you suggest?" Qrow questioned.

After only an instant of Ironwood regarding his friend, the general tapped another button on the table. A holographic projection of a familiar stadium with a gargantuan gravity dust crystal perpetuating its eternal flight blinked into existence right before their eyes.

"That's… Amity Colosseum," Jaune intoned.

Pyrrha gazed at the image. "Where the Vytal Festival was held."

"And the world as we knew it turned to ash in the breeze," Ironwood finished. "Indeed. When Beacon fell and everyone on Remnant lost contact with one another, I knew our current system was outdated. Regardless of its role in the creation of the situation we find ourselves in now, Amity was built to bring the nations together – and it _will_ serve that purpose again."

He pointed at an antenna that was added to the image. "The Amity Tower project. It'll be retrofitted into a tower of its own and will replace more than only Beacon's lost tower, should this mission succeed. Our scientists believe that if we launch it into the upper atmosphere, we can reestablish the entire CCTS with one tower alone. Perfect communication, forever secured outside the clutches of Salem."

"That kind of project…" Lux looked at the colosseum, his gaze locked firmly onto the task of taking in every detail of the proposed structure before them. "It'd be one of the greatest wonders that Remnant has ever known."

"James," Qrow wearily began, "you don't need the entire military for this."

Ironwood's expression remained steadfast. "I will for this next part. When I finally tell the people that Salem is out there."

At that moment, Opal thought that the entire room suddenly felt a lot colder.

"Huh, so that's why you withdrew your troops. To handle the panic that would break out in Atlas," Qrow said.

"Yes, panic is inevitable, and panic brings Grimm. But I believe we are ready," Ironwood reassured. "Once Atlas has come to grips with the enormity of the fight ahead, I'll use Amity Tower to spread the message to _all_ of Remnant."

"But everything will fall apart!" Weiss contested. "Grimm will be everywhere!"

"You're right, but Atlas is willing and prepared to assist," Winter countered.

Ironwood nodded. "United, we'll finally be able to push back Salem and end her tyranny for good. Keeping the truth withheld will only kill us all, in the end."

One last press of a button and the office slowly reverted to the moonlit state it had been when everyone had first entered the room. Most of those only recently informed of Ironwood's plan stood silent as they digested what had been told to them. The construction of Atlas would likely always be the greatest technological achievement mankind had ever known, yes, but the idea of a single tower being erected for eternity to supply the world limitless communication… it was a proposal that went beyond the bounds of what anyone had ever imagined before. The fact that the tower would then be used to change the face of Remnant in a much more important way with the reveal of Salem only added to the enormity of the reveal.

Should Ironwood's plan succeed, Remnant would at _bare minimum_ be converted into the single strongest bastion of united civilization ever imagined, but should it fail… the world as they knew it would cease to exist. None of this accounted for Salem's immortality, either.

Qrow was the first to recover. "Oz spent his whole life, _many_ lives, keeping this a secret."

"I know, but since Beacon, things have changed." Ironwood slowly started his return to the desk he'd started at. "Without him here to guide us, all I can do is use my best judgment."

"Excuse me… sir?" Oscar piped up.

Ironwood stopped. "What is it?"

"Actually… Ozpin isn't completely gone."

Qrow gestured to him. "Oscar Pine here, he's… he's the next Ozpin."

The general turned around, newfound awe and hope in his otherwise intimidating eyes. "Oz? I- I'm so glad you're here. I didn't think you'd-"

Oscar put up a hand to silence him before he came any closer. "Not quite. He's kind of, um, _gone_ at the moment."

"That's…" Ironwood's smile faded. "That's not normal. How did he-"

"We don't know."

All eyes in the room fell on Ruby.

"We were in a train crash on our way to Argus, and ever since, well… suddenly, Oz wasn't there anymore," Ruby explained.

"That's the worst news yet." Ironwood pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation and continued his short trip back to his desk, though he passed it to instead stop at the window. "Did any of you learn anything from him about the Relics before…?"

"He told us the lamp can answer three questions, but they've all been used up already."

Opal exchanged a short, unsure look with Ruby. Green eyes met silver and the expression that Ruby returned to her told Opal clearly that she thought that this was the right call to make. Given the borderline absurdity of the plan they now found themselves privy to and its potential impact, the feline faunus was somewhat inclined to agree. At least for now.

"Right, right…" Ironwood trailed off. He turned to face everyone again, but his eyes fell one on person in particular. "But at least we have you, Oscar. You're safe here in Atlas. Maybe together we can figure out how we can bring Ozpin back."

Oscar nodded. "Thank you, sir. I mean uh, general. Ironwood?"

"Whatever you think is right," Ironwood said. "Additionally, regarding the Relic."

"Oh!" Ruby disconnected the lamp from her hip and held it with both hands. "Did you want-"

He waved a dismissive hand at her. "No, no. I believe that the lamp would probably be safer in your hands, for the time being. You can choose who carries it, but since you have all kept it safe thus far, I trust that you'll be more than capable of that task now that you're here in Atlas."

"Oh, well in that case…" Ruby extended her hands over to Oscar. "It'd probably be for the best if I didn't keep one of the four most important things in the world on my hip like a keychain."

Oscar hesitantly nodded after taking the relic into his hands. "Yeah. Probably."

"A wise decision," Ironwood observed. "At any rate… I would like to work together with you all to fight Salem and win. _If_ you wish to stand with me."

Ruby faced her teammates with an expectant look, as if to gauge their reactions.

Weiss expressed her hopeful optimism without words.

Blake appeared fatigued, but a soft nod let her leader know she'd be okay with her decision.

Yang conveyed her skepticism much the same as her approval to whatever her sister chose to do.

RWBY's leader then returned her attention to Ironwood. "We'll do whatever we can to help."

He nodded. "Good. JNPR?"

"What do you say, guys?" Jaune asked.

Nora crossed her arms. "I don't like how the people in Mantle are being treated, but if this is our best chance to stop Salem and help the world… I'll be with you."

"Likewise," Pyrrha agreed. "We've come too far to turn back now, Jaune. I believe in the good that we could do for Remnant if we simply band together now. No matter what qualms we might have with the way things are, at the moment."

Ren nodded. "To ally with the general now is the most logical decision we can make. Remnant needs our help. We can't hope to have any true impact if we stand alone in our efforts."

"Then… I think you have our answer," Jaune said with a determined look back toward Ironwood. "We're in this together, too."

"And your assistance is highly appreciated. I'll go ahead and assume that Qrow and Oscar already stand with me, but…" Ironwood's eyes fell on the last team. "Iridescence? Will you stand with us?"

Opal only needed to look at her teammates once to come to terms with the decision she'd have to make. As expected, Lux conveyed his dedication and approval of her judgment with a glance, but Opal knew her boyfriend too well to not notice the faint echoes of frustration that remained from their time in a cell. Tenebris had always been less than successful when it came to keeping his emotions under wraps, so the similarity of his views to his twin brother's remained clear as day. Aurora was her only teammate whose face betrayed no frustration, but rather a level of concern that told Opal that her best friend only wished that her leader would make the decision that'd cause her the least grief.

With her adoptive family's faith in her and their perspectives made clear, Opal made her choice.

"No."

Shock rippled through the room.

"Guys…?" Ruby started.

Opal sighed. "At no point in the general's plan did it concern improving the lives of the faunus in any way. I know for a fact that I speak for both myself and my team when I say that none of us can turn a blind eye to the discrimination the faunus here face every day. Not now. Not when Lux, Blake and I were all detained for no reason at all while everyone else was brought here freely. I can't commit myself to one fight while ignoring another that's hit so close to home."

For a short time, no one said anything. JNPR, RWBY, Qrow, and Oscar all stared at Iridescence in awe at their first true conflict of interest in all the time they'd spent together. Winter and Ironwood peered at Opal from merely a few feet away with unreadable expressions. Opal was beginning to think that her decision would mark the sudden end of her team's involvement with the fight against Salem when Ironwood did something that shocked everyone yet again.

He chuckled. "You know, I had a plan to deal with that issue, too."

Aurora's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"As you may have gathered from what I said when all of you first entered my office, I'm not blind to the prejudice the faunus face in this kingdom. I'm not blind to the history most citizens in either Mantle or Atlas itself would ignore." Ironwood looked at Opal and bowed his head slightly in what she could only interpret as a silent apology. "I planned on explaining what that plan was at a later time, once you all had gotten some rest after your undoubtedly long and hard journey. The preparation to launch Amity Tower won't be easy, but seeing as we're seemingly stuck at an impasse… I'll elaborate now, instead."

"James…" Qrow intruded. "You don't mean-"

"I do." Ironwood continued before anyone had a chance to question their exchange. "None of you were probably made aware of this, but Ozpin had been considering for many years prior to his demise how to take a more active stance in the plight of the faunus. In response to the formation of the White Fang's original, more peaceful incarnation, this desire of his only grew all the more intense."

"Okay…" Lux eyed the general curiously. "That doesn't explain why he didn't do anything. It also doesn't explain what _your_ plan is, now that Ozpin's gone."

"I was about to get there," Ironwood continued. "I suspect that it was the occurrence of Beacon that prevented him from enacting upon any of his plans, but… Iridescence. Have any of you ever thought about why your team was named in such an unconventional way? Team MALT would've just as easily sufficed as a team name for your group, too."

Tenebris' lip scrunched up. "I mean, yeah, but I always thought that he was just being considerate. None of us have any colors that'd suit that kind of team name, so we always went ahead and assumed he just threw out whatever he thought would work."

"Quite the contrary. If there's one thing I think we can all agree on, it's that Ozpin has lived far too long to do anything without some reason behind his actions. Before his demise, all of us who were closely connected to Ozpin were informed that he'd been waiting for a long time to bestow your team name onto a group of individuals he thought had potential," Ironwood explained. He made a broad gesture to each member of the team. "All races. All kingdoms. Their outfits, armaments, and histories indicative of global influences all coming together in a group of four hopeful Huntsmen-in-training. The students that would become Team Iridescence were meant to become a symbol of unity, but one far more alive and active than something such as Amity Colosseum could've ever hoped to be."

"How?" Opal asked. "We were never really placed in the spotlight more than a few times while we were at Beacon. Ozpin never approached us or gave us hints that he had high hopes for what our team would mean to the world."

"That's why I assumed the imminent fall of Beacon was what kept Ozpin from initiating his plans to increase your team's importance on the global stage. But that's the past. We live in the present now, and to alleviate your concerns I have an offer I'd like to extend to you."

"Well then, here we go…" Qrow whispered.

Ironwood extended a hand toward them. "Become my right-hand team. Iridescence may not have had the chance to shine as it should have back before Beacon, but now is the perfect opportunity for your team to emphasize the unity all of Remnant can share. I'm not just making this offer simply to gain your trust, either – I _do_ see potential in your team, just as Ozpin once did."

"And in case James wasn't clear, this isn't just some recruitment drive to keep you kids on our side," Qrow added. "When Atlas sees that a team with as much going on as yours has been hand-picked by the general to fight for them, even if people don't want to accept it right away, it'll be impossible for them to deny that there are faunus out there that deserve their respect. Keep them thinking about the example you guys set long enough and you'll start a social revolution – no need for rallies or some stupid speeches."

"Sometimes it's simply the actions of an exceptional few individuals that can cause the greatest change. Team Iridescence can be the team that shakes things up for the faunus. Atlas first, then the rest of the world." Ironwood's lips tilted up in a small smile that was almost obscured by his beard. "So… what do you say now?"

"If it helps the people down in Mantle and up here in Atlas…" Opal glanced at her teammates to find each of them offering subtle nods of approval. "We'll do it."

Ironwood gave a short hum of approval. "I'd go ahead and thank you for the gesture, but I'll save that for later. I imagine that you and your team would want to see the fruits of your labor before some up-until-recently untrustworthy general showers you with praise, huh?"

"Something like that," Opal admitted.

"So…" Ruby started, clearly trying to dispel the serious air of the room. "When do we start?"

"Soon, but first… we'll probably have to get your weapons up to more acceptable, _Atlesian_ standard," Ironwood said.

A holographic display of footage from the group's battle against the Grimm came into existence above his desk, and Winter continued the general's line of thought. "Remember, this is Atlas. As the kingdom with the most comprehensive military in the world, while you're working with us, we will provide you the best equipment our scientists can provide."

" _Yes!_ " Nora cheered.

Ren appeared somewhat surprised. "Really? Just like that?"

Lux scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm with you. We're recruited by you guys and we get upgrades just like that? No strings attached?"

"None at all," Ironwood confirmed. "Fortunately, Pietro has recently informed me that he has some familiarity with Opal, here. Typically, our scientists would need some time to become familiar with your weapons before making any upgrades, but… we'll be able to expedite the process with Opal's help and expertise."

" _If_ she's willing to assist," Winter added.

Instantly, Opal raised her hands defensively as everyone looked to her. "I'll do it, but I need schematics and interviews with all of you _one at a time._ Don't bombard me all at once, please."

 _'Nice job, Opal. Perfectly defused that situation.'_

"Then I'll be sure to leave you to take on that task at your earliest convenience," Ironwood said calmly. "Winter will escort you all to your accommodations. I think you'll all find them to be… a cut above the dorms at Beacon. My personal thanks for your assistance in the weeks and months to come. Your belongings will be there waiting for you."

* * *

"So, you're telling me that we need to destroy our _only_ surefire way to get out of Atlas undetected?" Emerald harshly accused. "Need I remind you that if things so south – no, even if things go _right,_ we can't afford to take on the _entire Atlas military_ on our way back to Salem!"

Liumang held back the urge to blow the smoke from his cigar in her face. "That's exactly what I'm saying, actually. Do you honestly think that we can leave an airship that was clearly made in Mistral on the frozen coast of Solitas for however long it takes to get this little revenge mission of yours done?"

"Then we leave someone behind to guard it," Emerald countered. "Maybe move the ship somewhere else until we get back, too."

He raised a brow at her, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets to ward off the cold of the continent a little more. "And effectively cripple our fighting strength for the rest of the time we're in Atlas. Smart strategy – if you want to end up dead. I thought you wanted this mission to work out for you."

"How long do you think they're gonna go at it?" Mercury asked, leaning against the airship.

"I've got no clue," Hazel confessed.

"I _do_ want this mission to work out for me, but I also don't want to have an entire kingdom's military chasing us on our way out of here. By the way, this isn't just _my_ mission. Last time I checked, you were here for revenge, too. Same as me," Emerald reminded.

Liumang looked away to blow smoke from his nose. "I'm _here_ because I had to blow up my last hideout after some jackass decided to rat me out. This whole 'revenge' thing is just a way for me to blow off some steam while I figure out what the hell I'm gonna do after all this blows over."

"Oh, blows over?" Emerald gestured behind her. For as far as the eye could see, mountain ranges and snow filled every nook and cranny of the frozen wasteland that was Solitas. Snow fell softly all around them, but foreboding clouds in the distance foretold of an imminent snowstorm that only those with a sturdy Aura would dare walk through without careful preparation. "Like how all _that_ is going to blow right over our heads if we choose to scuttle the ship here and travel all the way to Mantle _on_ _foot?_ "

"You have quite literal magic powers, princess," Liumang deadpanned. "You can't handle the cold? Make a fire. It's not my problem if you don't wanna trudge through a little snow. You wanted me to tag along for this circus ride, and I'm here. You want me to stick around? You let me blow up that airship and save us all the trouble that'll come if another Atlas air patrol comes around and sees that someone's infiltrated their borders."

Hazel appeared beside them both. "For what it's worth, I think he has a point. If Atlas is alerted that they have some foreign party in their kingdom before we even arrive, our mission is gonna become _much_ more difficult. They'll be on high alert for weeks. Even if it'll be hell getting to Mantle on foot, it's better than running the risk of failure before we even get to where our objective is located in the first place."

Emerald gave him an incredulous look. "But-"

"Salem was generous enough to give you _one shot_ at revenge," Hazel reminded her. "You blow this by making a bad call here, and you can say goodbye to any chance you could've had to kill those two girls that took Cinder away from you. At least on your terms."

Liumang smiled smugly to himself. "See? Hazel agrees with me, so how about you listen to the big boys and-"

Emerald pointed one finger in the general direction of his cigar, and it was frozen solid.

"Bitch."

" _Fine,_ " Emerald spat out. "Go ahead and scuttle the ship. The sooner you destroy it, the sooner we can get a move on and get through that storm up ahead."

"Yeah, sure." Liumang glared at his frozen cigar as he threw it away. "Mercury! Get the hell away from that airship. You get killed and I'm pretty sure this chick over here will try and put my head on a spike."

" _Try?_ " Mercury started a lazy walk toward him. "She _would_ have your head on a spike. Don't underestimate her – she was a powerhouse even before she got those magic powers of hers. And for the record, your semblance wouldn't be enough to take me out."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, pumpkin," Liumang taunted with a self-confident venom in his tone. "Good thing about Mistral's airships is that they don't have much metal involved in their construction. This thing should burn to ash after one explosion and the rest should be buried by the snowfall when we move out."

Hazel nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

 _'At least someone respects my brilliance.'_

Liumang returned the gesture and turned his attention back to the ship. He idly rolled his neck and followed up the motion with a deep inhale. His chest expanded, and he felt his Aura dance over his lips as he prepared to unleash his semblance. One exhale preceded another inhale, and the look in Liumang's eyes sharpened as he brought his semblance to bear with a sharp whistle that cracked through the air. A condensed beam of energy flew from his lips and raced toward the airship.

It detonated at the center of the passenger bay. The ensuing explosion sent burning shrapnel flying in every direction as the midsection of the ship suffered the brunt of Liumang's wrath. At the same time, the intact front and back portions of the airship that remained fell into the snow, to be left as naught but twin piles of flame and tinder. The scent of burnt wood and smoke filled Liumang's nostrils.

He smirked to himself, satisfied. "Another job well-done."

"Congrats. Inanimate object zero, Liumang one!" Mercury declared; his sarcasm made clear by the slow clap that followed. "I really hope you have more tricks up your sleeve than just that little semblance of yours."

"I detect jealousy," Liumang taunted.

"Nah," Mercury denied. "All I'm saying is that unless you can do more than whistle some stuff into oblivion, you're probably gonna end up dying here in Atlas."

Liumang gave him a fake smile. "Oh, don't worry kiddo, I didn't become one of Mistral's most wanted because I'm a one-trick faunus. Besides, it wouldn't be fun to see me in action if you already knew everything about how I fight, now would it?"

"I'll believe it when I see it," Mercury mentioned.

Hazel turned toward the open tundra. "Now that we've got that out of the way, all that's left is to make it to Mantle and infiltrate the place. We'll probably come up with a better plan of action to take from there when we're not under threat of an incoming snowstorm."

"Leave that to me." Liumang walked in front of the muscled titan of their group, the tip of his tail trailing through the snow as he took point in front of everyone. "I haven't been away from Mistral in a while, but if Mantle's stayed as lazy as I know they've been before, there's a sewer system we can cut through right into the city. I don't think whatever metal grate they put over it should be much of an issue, between the four of us."

"And here I thought I was done with hiding in sewers…" Emerald mumbled.

"Eh, it's just another part of the criminal life you'll have to get used to if you want to get things done right," Liumang pointed out. He whipped out another cigar and lit it despite the breeze before he started in the direction of Mantle.

It took him all of three seconds to realize no one had moved to follow him, and he looked back over his shoulder when he stopped.

Emerald's wrathful glare had fallen on her scroll. "Of _course_ they'd be here."

"Who?" Liumang questioned. "More friends of yours?"

Hazel stood beside her. "Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows. The last two agents of Salem that aren't right in front of you. It looks like she's decided to deploy them in Atlas ahead of us."

"I see your vindictive bitch queen has a lot of faith in you."

"Her reasoning for their deployment isn't something we should be concerned about," Hazel countered. "She's been playing this worldwide game of chess against Ozpin for longer than any of us could imagine. She may have sent them here for a mission separate to ours."

"And I'd be careful what you call Salem when you're around Tyrian," Mercury casually mentioned. "He has a bit of a _thing_ going on when it comes to her. Worships her as a goddess."

"Sounds like a fun guy," Liumang observed.

Mercury rolled his eyes. "He's a _freak_ if you ask me."

"But aren't we all?"

Emerald stalked past him. "Enough. We should get going. Watts wants us to hurry up, and we'll have plenty of time to talk on our way into Mantle."

"Look at you, making the right call," Liumang praised. "Feel free to lead the way. Maybe remind me why the hell you were talking about the 'Winter Maiden' on our way over here, while you're at it. I thought you wanted to kill that Malachite chick."

"And Yang Xiao Long, if possible, yes." Emerald continued forward, and the three men behind her followed. "The reason I mentioned the Winter Maiden though is that she's another one of our goals, here. I could tell Salem wasn't all that thrilled about letting me go on this mission of mine to get back at those two for what they did to Cinder, but if I get another Maiden's powers on our side while we're at it…"

He took a deep drag of his cigar. "You'd successfully curry favor with your superior and play down the damage you did to your rep with her at the same time. Looks like you might have a good head on your shoulders, after all."

"I didn't survive as long as I did before Cinder found me through sheer luck," Emerald admonished. "I've just… been on edge lately."

"Your boss got killed by two teenage brats a few weeks ago. I'd be more surprised if you weren't set a little off-kilter by that," Liumang mentioned with a shrug. "Not everyone can be as awesome as me when it comes to taking some crazy shit in stride."

"Oh, so you don't have a temper?" Emerald quipped.

"Oh, _I do,_ " Liumang said darkly. "You just haven't seen it yet."

Mercury chuckled. "Another surprise waiting for us down the road?"

"Exactly," he confirmed. "Play your cards right, and that temper might be aimed at your enemies instead of one of you guys. No promises you'll ever see me pissed, but hey, gotta keep you guys on your toes around me somehow."

"I think having an explosive semblance as powerful as yours is enough to keep anyone alert around you," Hazel commented. "If they don't want to get killed, at least."

Liumang slowed to clap a hand on Hazel's shoulder. "Now you're starting to get me, big guy."

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **A shorter chapter, but I felt it was necessary to cut it off here before the whole 'Ace Ops' series of sequences rolled around. Either way, some good stuff happened here, insofar as the plot is concerned. Ironwood/Ozpin's plans for Team Iridescence are finally revealed after several months of hardship and a few hours' worth of discrimination, while the Salami Squad prepare to roll out and Liumang continues to be a vainglorious bastard I love to write.**

 **Time shall tell what upgrades are made to Iridescence, JNPR, and RWBY's gear and what successes and failures Ironwood's right-hand team will find over the course of their stay in Atlas. Here's to a (hopefully) good rendition of Volume 7! Stay awesome, guys!**


	24. Volume 7 - Mission Prep

In the period that followed the gang's introduction and summary alliance with Ironwood, one would be slightly surprised to hear that Opal hadn't seen more than a few more blocks of either the city she'd taken temporary residence in nor the racism-riddled area below. Instead, she'd spent a little over a week working tirelessly in Pietro's laboratory to speed up the process of making upgrades to everyone's gear by leaps and bounds.

Pietro's workspace up in Atlas made his clinic look like a broom closet by comparison. The room itself took up almost as much floor space as a medium-sized house, not including the comprehensive testing range encased in a hard-light barrier to keep the rest of the lab safe from any potential misfires. Scattered around the work area laid an assortment of half-finished projects; new armors, polymers, robots, prototype weapons meant for use by both Atlesian Paladins and Knights – the list went on. Some of the most comprehensive tools on the planet, much of which Opal had only ever heard of in rumors as being utilized by Atlesian personnel in the production of their Huntsmen and Huntresses' weaponry, also dotted the many tables and workbenches of the room. All of it combined alongside a clean and sleek white and blue color scheme made it clear that Pietro's workspace was one designed to keep Atlas on the bleeding edge of technological advancement.

All of it also gave Opal the impression that her old forge back home would seem downright quaint if placed side-by-side with Pietro's lab. Mistral was known for some of its Huntsman-grade weaponry being some of the best on the market, but production was as laborious as it was slow, given the more traditional processes craftsmen in the kingdom tended to utilize to assure the quality of the weapons they created. Being one of many bright craftsmen clans in the kingdom, the Malachite Clan was no different.

Which meant that Opal's presence in a place that would've been able to create her katana-bow in mere weeks due to its myriad of advanced tools instead of the few _months_ it took her to craft it by hand was quite a lot to take in. Thankfully, Pietro's somewhat senile nature took a back seat long enough for him to give her a crash-course on how to make the most of everything in his lab, and the pair set to work on their prepared list of assigned upgrades at record speed.

Eight days, several cat naps, and a few cups of tea later, and they were almost at the finish line.

She sheathed her weapon again and rested her head on the hilt of it when she placed the end of its scabbard upright on the ground. Tension dissolved from her shoulders as she realized that with the completion of Emerald's overhaul and some added maintenance, she'd finally be able to breathe freely again without the necessity that more painstakingly delicate weaponry-related work needed to be done. Not for the foreseeable future, anyway.

"Deep breaths, Opal. Deep breaths," she murmured aloud.

Somewhere to her left, she heard Pietro chuckle. "I see you're relieved that we're almost done. I'll admit, as much as I love working on upgrades and improvements to high-tech weaponry it'll be quite the relief when we're finished."

Opal lifted her head from the hilt and sat up straight. "You can say that again. There's a reason I made a point of things to have a bunch of one-on-one interviews with everyone before we even got started. I've always found that it's easier to work through a major load of upgrades when you have a proper list of things you know you'll have to get done."

"No arguments there." Pietro keyed his chair to take him toward the testing range. "So, I see you're done with your weapon's maintenance. Care to test out your upgrade first? Now that all the fine details have been sorted out, all that's left to do is quality assurance."

She stood and started toward him. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Glad to hear it." Pietro's chair stopped next to a control panel near the testing range. The entire 'wall' behind the panel was made of hard-light, with only a door-shaped gap inside it that would seal shut at the push of a button. "Might I assume that we'll bring in each of your friends to test out their upgrades as well before we return their weapons to them? Or do you have other plans?"

Opal stopped near the gap, her attention fixed on her weapon as she affixed it to her belt and adjusted the strap of her quiver. "I think that we should probably let them field-test their gear, honestly. Better opportunity for improvement and wastes less time on our end. Besides, I don't think we'd be able to convince any of them to come anyway. Not today."

Pietro's brow perked up. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Everyone's preoccupied," Opal explained. "I don't know if the general's told you, but while I've been here with you, the rest of Iridescence has spent every day being briefed about all the details we'll need to know as Ironwood's field operatives. RWBY and JNPR have the least going on since they can't train without their weapons, but between figuring out their new wardrobes and hairstyles… I don't know if I'd be able to drag any of them here if I tried."

"Well, at least they're keeping themselves entertained," Pietro noted. "I know how some Huntsmen can tend to get a bit antsy staying if they stay in one place for too long."

Opal let a breath punch out from her nostrils. "Oh, you have no idea…"

Without further ado, she refocused herself on the task at hand. One of her hands secured the sheath of her weapon firmly at her side while the other lightly rested atop the hilt. She sauntered into the testing range with a purposeful sway of her hip to make sure that the weight and balance of her weapon hadn't changed since she last wore it. The hard-light barrier behind her sealed shut, and she smiled to herself in the temporary isolation Pietro had provided. She was satisfied to recognize that her weapon felt the same as before, but she couldn't help but feel a little excited at the chance to finally test if her upgraded katana would be as effective as she hoped.

The testing range itself remained utterly empty for a moment. Then, as Pietro presumably made the most of his familiarity with the room's systems with a few clever button-presses, the range came to life. A small portion of the floor in front of Opal opened up to reveal a steel cube that would've reached up to her thigh if she stood next to it. The cube continued to rise thanks to the assistance of a hard-light encased pillar beneath it, and it only stopped when the steel cube had been raised high enough into the air that its center was almost level with Opal's chest.

 _"Alright Opal, are you ready?"_ Pietro asked through the intercom.

She sank into a combat-ready stance. She decided she'd engage her inanimate foe with every ounce of strength her body, mind, and spirit combined could muster. With her semblance and Emerald at her disposal, she was confident that she could overcome any obstacle that the testing range could put on display.

"I am," she finally answered. "Have you read up on my semblance, at all?"

 _"I'm afraid I haven't."_

"Well, let me give you the brief. Amplify lets me augment my strength, speed, or any of my other combat stats by a large amount at the cost of continuous Aura usage over time." Her smirk grew wider, the grip on the hilt of her katana tighter. "But after months of training followed by the battle at Beacon… I've awakened by semblance. I can enter an ascended state where I gain access to a few more tricks my semblance wouldn't let me pull otherwise, but the normal amplification of my abilities reaches new heights on top of that. I even managed to reduce the amount of Aura my ascended state needs to work by a ton while we were back in Mistral."

Pietro's impressment was audible. _"That sounds like quite the semblance you have, there. No doubt it's helped you a lot on your way to Atlas."_

"It has." Opal unsheathed her katana slightly, ready to strike, and spiritual flames born of the consumption of her Aura flared to life upon her shoulders, upper back, and her eyes. "Now let me show you what my semblance and an upgraded weapon can accomplish."

Augmented by the might of adrenaline, several years of training, and her semblance's ascended state combined, she darted forward like a bullet. Faster than any untrained eye could see, Opal approached the block of solid Atlesian steel and whipped out her katana exactly as her iaijutsu lessons back home had taught her.

She stopped a few feet past her metallic target. Her katana raised proudly in the air at the success of a completed strike, the world fell silent around her. It was then that she slowly moved to return her weapon to its sheath. At the same instant a sharp _click_ let Opal know it locked back into place, she took the life of her spiritual flames away with the deactivation of her semblance.

A loud, metallic _thud_ marked a triangular half of the steel block hitting the floor.

Opal turned around, grinning. "How's that for a demonstration?"

 _"That was…"_ Pietro keyed for the gap back into the lab proper to open, and Opal started to meander back toward him. "Amazing! Incredible! I have _never_ seen someone cleave through a solid block of Atlesian steel before! Of course, that steel block had several impurities that prevent it from being used in weaponry or armor, which is why it found its way to the testing range, but to cut clean through it is still an impressive feat!"

Opal walked by Pietro to lean up against a near-empty table near where they were working. "And that's exactly why my upgrade only needed to be so simple compared to everyone else's."

Pietro approached and pointed at her weapon. "The integration of Aura-conductive material into the blade without compromising its original metallic composition isn't what I'd call simple."

She shrugged. "Fair enough, but you get the point. All I needed to take my weapon's level of effectiveness to the same level Amplify is now, on account of its evolution, was to make sure that I can pool my Aura, my _soul_ around my blade."

"And now your strength in battle will reflect that newfound connection," Pietro observed.

"Exactly." Opal pulled her sheathed weapon from her belt and held it reverently between both of her hands. "Back in Mistral, it's often said that a fighter who feels a spiritual connection to their weapon will almost always triumph over those who see their weapons as merely a mundane extension of their body. I've always been a believer of that idea."

"Well, Opal, I'd like to applaud you for having such respect for your weapon," Pietro kindly praised. "Too many Huntsmen and Huntresses these days don't have even half as much love for their weapons as you obviously have for yours. It's a shame."

Opal set her katana behind her. "Agreed. On the bright side, JNPR, RWBY, and Iridescence all appreciate their weapons a ton. You have no ideahow much time it took me to convince Ruby to let the two of us work on her weapon by ourselves."

Pietro smiled warmly. "That's good news indeed. Oh, but if we aren't bringing in your friends to test out their weapons beforehand, should we go down the list of everyone's requested upgrades one more time to make sure we haven't missed anything?"

She handed him a digital tablet. "It couldn't hurt."

"Alright, then let's begin with Team RWBY," Pietro noted. He tapped on the screen and quickly scrolled down the list of names and assorted technical information until he found the weapon profile he was looking for. "One Ruby Rose requested the addition of a rotating feature to her sniper-scythe's blade. Can't say I saw much utility for that kind of upgrade, but I can assure you that I managed to integrate it without compromising the structural integrity of her weapon."

Opal reached behind her to grab another tablet similar to his and swiftly caught up to the profile that Pietro had arrived at. "Well, I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that. Back when we were in Vale, she sometimes treated Crescent Rose like a little sister."

"A quirk of her personality, I assume?" Pietro amusedly questioned.

"One that she thankfully grew out of, too," Opal confirmed with a smirk. "Next on the list was none other than RWBY's best brawler and the person who's had the historically biggest temper out of all of us… Yang. She couldn't think of anything she wanted to add to Ember Cecilia."

"Which is why we came up with an upgrade on her behalf. I believe that you took on that particular project, did you not?"

With minimal effort, Opal sat atop the table. "I did. Remote mines that she can plant on objects or opponents. They'll only be triggered either if she wants them to detonate or has set them on a timer before their being planted."

"If her performance while in Amity Colosseum is any indicator, I'd like to think that we made the right choice with that one. Suits her style," Pietro noted. "Next would be Weiss Schnee. She was rather specific with the instructions she provided, so a simple upgrade to the dust storage system in her rapier was all that I needed to provide."

Opal swiped away from the rest of RWBY's weapon profiles as she confirmed that all of them had been marked as complete. "That means that they're all done and over with, then. The only thing Blake wanted out of this whole thing were repairs made to the blade of Gambol Shroud. I got that sorted out the first day I was confident with the tools you have here."

"Then we can move on along to JNPR. The improvement of Nora Valkyrie and Jaune Arc's weapons and armor fell to me, and while theirs weren't the most entertaining out of the whole bunch to work on, they weren't much trouble to get done either," Pietro admitted with an absentminded shrug. "Magnhild was retrofitted with a built-in liquid electric dust discharge system to make sure she can make the most of her semblance."

"Did you make sure you also added the feature where she could ride it through the air like a magic broomstick?" Opal asked, holding back a giggle.

Pietro let out an exaggerated sigh. "Yes, I did. Again, not sure whether such a feature will come in handy, but you never know. Oh, and I almost forgot! Crocea Mors – I integrated a hard-light and gravity dust kite shield expansion capability into its shield form. His armor was overhauled aesthetically, but as requested, I didn't alter its metallic composition as to avoid ruining its white and gold coloration."

"Yep, that sounds like something Jaune would request alright," Opal mentioned with a wistful shake of her head. "So that leaves Pyrrha and Ren's upgrades, which I did on account of their weapons' origins in Mistral. StormFlower's bayonets will now let Ren grapple around if he needs to, but Miló remains mostly the same. All Pyrrha wanted out of this whole thing was the addition of a retractable bladed discus onto her shield, some cloth armor to help protect her from the cold when her Aura isn't up, and a little more reinforcement to her armored boots to make sure her heels aren't vulnerable."

"You say that as though armor overhauls are simple," Pietro said.

Opal raised a brow. "Compared to your last two projects that took up more than half of the time you've spent here, they were simple. Now, since we've got to my team and we've already seen that Emerald is better than ever, we can cap off my list of contributions."

The elderly scientist tapped a folder and tilted his head at the updated schematic that appeared before him. "Rather delicate work."

"And I have delicate hands," Opal mentioned. "Which is one of _many_ reasons that Lux made sure I was the one that threw an air compression chamber into Wiz. In the same way I wanted to make sure my weapon made the most of my semblance, Lux did too. That's why he wanted that compression chamber in there – so that he can funnel a whirlwind into the device and make the most of that power later."

Pietro stroked his chin. "So what you're saying is that this device will essentially allow him to speed up a small number of his shots to augment their speed and striking power."

"Or provide one shot with so much kinetic force that whoever gets hit by it will feel like they got hit by a railgun and not a bolt-action musket."

He nodded, impressed. "Smart."

Opal responded with a dismissive wave. "I can't take all the credit. Lux created Wiz, Boomstick, and Tenebris' armor mostly by himself with the intention that they'd be upgraded later on. He laid down most of the groundwork for me when it came to the addition of that compression unit."

"Then I'd like you to extend my thanks to your friend, as well," Pietro said. He closed the folders and shut down the screen before his chair whirred to life as it carried him toward the far side of the room. "If his brother's rocket launcher and armor weren't as cleanly designed as they were, I daresay that we'd be here another three days working on those upgrades alone."

Sliding down from the table, Opal shut down her tablet entirely before she swiftly set out to catch up with him. "As much as I hate to say it, you're probably right. If I'm honest, it's a miracle that we managed to work through as many pieces of weapons and armor in the time that we did."

Pietro stopped in front of two armor stands. Jaune and Pyrrha's sets of gear had already been stowed away in lockers elsewhere in the room, but before him stood the empty shells of metal that were Aurora and Tenebris' combat-wear. As Opal arrived next to the elderly scientist, she once again noted that aside from some new lights spruced throughout the pieces of Tenebris' armor and the glow of dust in the new cable-storage apparatus on the back of Aurora's, neither set looked all that different from when it had been first brought in. No one would know the amount of work that Pietro put into both of their kits at a glance, which only meant that their various new features would be that much more useful when they were unleashed in the field.

"True as that might be, I don't want you to feel the need to shower me with any unnecessary praise," Pietro reassured. "With all that's going on in the world, it's the least I can do to play my part. It just so happens that 'my part' is making sure that you and your friends have some of the best tech in the world at your disposal."

Crossing her arms, Opal let out a soft sigh. "Yet another good point, but since I saw how much more complex their weapon and armor schematics got over the past few days, do you want to tell me what _exactly_ you incorporated into their gear?"

"After we went over nearly everyone else so far, I wouldn't have it any other way. Let's start with Aurora." Pietro adjusted himself to sit a little taller in his quadrupedal seat, his hands placed peacefully on either armrest. "One of her most emphasized requests was to see if we could improve upon the strength of her weapons and armor without compromising the unique metallic makeup that enables her to utilize her semblance in the first place. Due to the nature of her request, integrating stronger alloys into her armor without altering the molecular structure of her armor was somewhat difficult, but Atlesian metallurgy was able to get the job done."

"The updated schematic noted that the weight wasn't drastically changed either," Opal mentioned. "I'm guessing you were careful about that too so that her mobile fighting style wouldn't be impaired at all."

Pietro smiled. "Exactly! While I can't say her armor is quite on the same level as Tenebris' set, its durability should be enough to sufficiently protect her from the claws, fangs, and horns of most low-level Grimm. Oh, and just to be clear – this durability extends to her weapon and cables, as well, which is all the better considering the upgrades I came up with for that apparatus of hers." His chair carried him sideways so that he could gesture to the newly overhauled gadget in question. "I took extra care as to not completely redesign the device's aesthetic, but I did install a dust storage system within the cable housing. With only slight use of her semblance, she can decide to coat her cables in any kind of dust she's stored up to give her offense a little more unpredictability and power to it."

Opal couldn't help but whistle softly. "It always cost her a lot of Aura to make her cables carry with them some real force in a fight. She'll appreciate that, for sure."

"And I appreciate her thanks in turn," Pietro responded genuinely as his apparatus carried him toward the other armor stand. "Now, the only person whose set of upgrades we have to cover is Tenebris. But before I begin – do you have any idea how those two boys wrangled together enough Atlesian Paladin-grade metal to make such a set of armor in the first place?"

"If I gave you a reminder that Vacuo is a kingdom full of thieves and brigands that's only held together by the power of duct tape and an absurd culture where strength is almost everything, would that be enough of a hint?" Opal asked. "It was a heist on their end. The material belonged to someone else named Jupiter before them, though."

Pietro's mouth opened as if he had something to say, but he closed it shortly thereafter to let a look of utter confusion cross his face. He shook his head. "Opal, remind me to be extra cautious if I ever consider going to their old stomping grounds, alright?"

She returned a casual two-fingered salute. "Will do."

"Now that we have that out of the way…" Pietro pushed up his glasses. "I'll try to be brief. His weapon was only given an upgraded dust storage system similar to Myrtenaster to enable a more liberal usage of its dust rocket-launching and thruster mode capabilities, while his armor was given a somewhat more… _involved_ revision. If you'll indulge me…?"

"I've got nowhere to be," Opal said.

"Much appreciated, though I'll still divide my summary of his upgrades into three sections to save some time," Pietro assured. "The top layer of his armor used to be composed of the aforementioned Atlesian Paladin-grade steel, but I've since integrated a new polymer into the blend as to amplify its durability a few times over. The middle layer is an entirely new addition that takes the form of several dozen interconnected kinetic amplifiers that'll act to enhance his already immense physical strength, for a time. Last but not least will be the bodysuit he wore to separate his body from his armor plating. Compared to everything else, replacing the original with a new thermal gel bodysuit that'll nullify brute-force attacks better than some kinds of metal armor can was almost trivial."

Opal suppressed a disbelieving chuckle. "You know, Pietro… I think there's a reason that you're the person that this whole kingdom hails as the smartest military scientist on Remnant."

"Well, give yourself a little more experience and plenty of practice, and I'm sure you could've gotten done what I did in half the time!" Pietro encouraged. "Don't undersell yourself, Opal, you did fantastic! Even some of the scientists a few floors beneath our feet would struggle to keep up with the amount of work you got done! And at such a young age, too! If you keep at it, I'm sure that between your experience here and your mastery of Malachite methods of weapon creation, you'll even surpass me one day."

Opal blinked, slightly taken aback. "Really?"

"Of course! Your parents taught you well, and the fact that you were able to keep up with me at all is something you should be proud of," Pietro pointed out. "I've had decades of experience working with these tools constantly, but you've probably only had a handful of weeks' worth of time to hone your craftsmanship these past few years because of your Huntress training. Yet you were able to almost match my pace. Do you see my point?"

"I… I guess so," Opal said, still in slight disbelief.

"Well, I'm glad," Pietro said peacefully, only for his eyes to widen as he looked past her toward the digital clock at the exit. "Oh, well would you look at that! It's almost sunset. Good thing we finished things up today, then – we'll be able to hand out everyone's new gear first thing in the morning after Ironwood gives us the go-ahead."

"Which means that our first mission won't be too far behind, and everyone will be able to test them there," Opal noted, finally returning to her normal, thoughtful self. "I know we've been stuck in here for over a week, but it still feels like everything's moving so fast."

Pietro keyed his chair to lazily wander toward the door. "Well, that's Atlas for you. One minute a corporation can rise with a monopoly on one of the many necessities of modern life, and the next it's been crushed by its competition. For better or worse, things move quickly when your whole city is in the sky. Even I have trouble keeping up with it sometimes."

"But at least I have my friends to help keep me sane…" Opal mentioned fondly. "Even though they often do so by being insane on my behalf."

"That's the spirit." Pietro praised. His chair stopped as it turned out the door. "Oh, and while I won't remind you to stow away your weapon until its well and truly released tomorrow, be sure to distribute those scrolls to your friends for me! Newest model – takes up the least space and energy for the most processing power and accurate Aura measurement system on the market!"

"I'll be sure to do that!" Opal called out as he disappeared down the hall.

In short order, she promptly placed her katana in its assigned storage locker, retrieved the large number of collapsed scrolls Pietro had requested she distribute to everyone, and shut off the lab's lights as she finally left the room behind. Her pace carried with it the same swift and near-silent nature to it that her friends had come to expect from each of her steps, but no matter how hard she tried to keep her mind on the task at hand, she couldn't help but feel her mind wander to thoughts of the future. Namely, the imminent future in which RWBY, JNPR, and Iridescence would be deployed to make the first steps necessary to decide the future of Remnant.

She'd always known that the fight she and her friends had become wrapped up in was one of worldwide importance. The battles she'd fought down in Vale, at Beacon, at Haven Academy and everywhere in between over the past few months made that clear to her every time they occurred, but looking back, none of those battles made _her_ feel important. Personally, it had always felt as though she was an individual who was only involved in this was by sheer chance, and that the actions she'd take were always decided upon by the players with the most power and influence in the conflict – Ozpin, Qrow, Lionheart, Salem, the list went on.

Now, though, that paradigm had changed. Now she was the leader of the team that would soon be announced to the entirety of Atlas to be the right-hand of General Ironwood himself. The cream of the crop. The elite among elites. The bar would be set higher than ever, but should Team Iridescence prove themselves to the people in the twin cities of Atlas, Opal's words and actions would carry with them more weight than ever possessed before.

No longer would she simply be the leader of yet another team of fighters.

No longer would she simply be the leader of the Malachite Clan.

Given enough time, she'd be one of the major players on the world stage with a significant say in the same conflict that already took so much away from her in the past. She'd lost an eye, her parents, and at one point her self-worth to Ozma and Salem's seemingly eternal conflict, but no longer would she remain a bystander. Even if she had to start small, she'd make sure that she made a difference – for the world _and_ the faunus.

And that was a promise.

* * *

As per Pietro's summary of the decent clip by which things in Atlas ran along, not even twelve hours after Opal left the lab and everyone's equipment behind did she find herself back in the master scientist's workplace. Given that she gave JNPR, RWBY, and her teammates their new-and-improved scrolls the previous evening as they all found their way back to the dorms, all it took for Ironwood to coordinate their assembly was a simple alert that woke them all up bright and early in the morning. No matter how much deep sleepers such as Weiss, Ruby, or Nora may have protested the disruption to their sleep cycles, not a single soul dared deny the summons of the most powerful man in Atlas. Opal knew exactly why they were all told to meet Pietro in his lab, but wisely, she kept her mouth shut to avoid spoiling the surprise when everyone was reunited with their gear.

Their reactions were everything she hoped they would be. Ruby exploded with more than enough excited energy to make up for Weiss and Blake's more subdued reactions, while Yang only made her satisfaction clear through a toothy grin sent Opal's way. Pyrrha practically tripped over her own words as she thanked Opal for what she described as 'the absolute marvel' that were her upgrades, while Ren retained his sanity and spoke for both himself and the rest of JNPR in his calm conveyance of thanks.

Meanwhile, her teammates responded to the sight of their upgraded equipment in a variety of different ways. Tenebris' silence contrasted against the almost awe-inspired grin on his face made his appreciation of Pietro's work clearer than any words he would've been able to call upon as he set his sights on his armor. Aurora shared in his silence for a time, her mouth agape as she seemed almost hesitant to dare and speak her thanks to Pietro for the newfound potential for powerful attacks he managed to pack into her cable apparatus. Lux used his faunus trait to the best of his ability to discern how solidly the new feature of his bolt-action musket had been included into his weapon with an almost inscrutable look on his face. Opal was almost concerned if she'd done something wrong up until the moment he dashed over and nearly drowned her in an endless tide of affectionate compliments and an eager hug when he saw the upgrade's integration surpassed all his expectations.

None of her adopted family's reactions were unexpected, but she'd have to call herself a liar if she dared deny the joy she felt upon witnessing how happy everyone became at the sight of her and Pietro's completed projects.

She and Pietro then spent the next few hours of the early morning making sure everyone understood the upgrades their weapons were given and how they should try and maintain them from here on out. Following that lengthy process, though, it didn't take long for everyone to agree that the best place they could try out their new and improved equipment would be out in the field. With that in mind, everyone filled out the sparse paperwork required to make sure the retrieval of their weapons was noted in Atlas' military database, the reunion reached its conclusion, and everyone left the lab with their weapons in tow. Opal almost found herself in the mood to assume that maybe they'd be given the rest of the day to recuperate after a little over a week of constant busywork.

Then her new scroll buzzed in her pocket to let her know she'd received a message. Ironwood wanted to see the leaders of all the teams that had pledged their support to him, plus Qrow, in his personal briefing room as soon as possible. At that moment, Opal knew that one thing was for certain – she could say goodbye to dreams of freedom for the evening.

And that was how she found herself in Ironwood's dimly lit briefing room only half an hour after she left Pietro's lab. Four small, curved projectors threw interactive images of information related to the task Ironwood called them in to talk about and formed a circle in the otherwise conspicuously empty room.

Ironwood entered the room at the exact time he specified all leaders involved should meet him there. "All of you are already here. Good, we have a lot of ground to cover and just as much to do if we want to get the Amity Tower project done in a timely manner."

"I see you haven't lost your charm when it comes to military meetings, James," Qrow passively quipped. "Good to see some things never change."

"I aim to please," Ironwood returned, and the press of a button on his scroll brought additional mission into view. "Nevertheless, if any of you are worried that I'm sending you all out on this mission tonight, don't be – your first official deployment in the kingdom will be tomorrow. On that note… the mission itself will be to secure the launch site for the Amity Communications Tower. The designated area is an abandoned dust mine."

As the image of the frozen industrial site grew larger on each of the screens in the room, Opal narrowed her eyes to take in the site. There were as many dust mines in the world as there were failed attempts at the creation of new kingdoms across the centuries, but Opal's heart warned her to remain ready for anything when she found there.

"Since its closure, the Grimm have infested the location and made use of the uninhabited area as a shelter from the cold." Ironwood continued. "The good news is that all the dust that went unharvested before the mine's closure is still down there, too. Our top scientists have assured me that they'll need every crystal they can get their hands on from this location in the first phase of their launch."

Jaune's hand stroked his chin. "And by sending us there to clear out all the Grimm, you're also taking care of a potential threat to the kingdom. The Grimm there could get dangerous if you left them alone for too long."

Ironwood nodded. "Exactly. Atlas military Huntsmen have already been put to work clearing out the tundra around the mine but haven't been authorized to go any closer. Recon has identified a powerful Geist that that's managed to evade destruction _and_ take several lives. After we sent in additional reinforcements to the military Huntsmen on-site, the Geist was smart enough to retreat into the mine itself."

"Which means that it's survived long enough to learn some strategy," Opal noted. "That probably makes it the biggest threat there, then."

"That's why its elimination has been made one of your top priorities for this mission to be called a success." Ironwood pressed on his scroll again, and the image flickered to show the ghastly image of the Geist and its armored 'body' itself. "Take a good, long look everyone. If for any reason you're unable to take care of the Geist before it can reach the loose matter necessary to make its armor, this is what you'll be dealing with. Several tons of ice, stone, and some very volatile raw dust crystals. I don't think I need to remind you all to stay on your toes."

Ruby hissed an inhale through her teeth. "You know, when we were on our way to Mistral, some of us worked together to take down a Petra Gigas. This Geist is… well, it looks a lot bigger than that one did."

"No arguments there," Opal agreed.

"Ditto," Jaune said.

"James, we've been in Atlas for a week and you're already throwing us right into one hell of a party," Qrow sarcastically mentioned. "You shouldn't have. Really."

"Very funny, Qrow," Ironwood said with a slight roll of his eyes. "I wouldn't be sending you and yours on this mission if I weren't confident in your combat abilities. If that defense all of you mustered together to protect Haven Academy can count as proof of your skill, I'm sure that one particularly old Grimm won't be too much of an issue."

Qrow shrugged. "You're not wrong. Iridescence ran into a Greater Cerberus on their first big mission out into the field."

The general sighed, and the screens shifted to show a vast map of the collection of tunnels and large chambers that comprised the underground portion of the mine. "I'll be sure to ask about _that_ particular story later, but for now – back to the briefing. As you can see, the mine was a labyrinth back in the day. Between all of the tunnels and chambers the Geist can move between, pinning it down from only one angle of approach would be almost impossible. That's why you'll all be split into separate teams to corner it."

"If we ignore how old that Geist is, this mission sounds like just any other search-and-destroy task a team of Huntsmen would take on," Qrow thought aloud. "Is there anything else we should know before we start preparing for tomorrow?"

Ironwood shut down the projectors. "Nothing at all. Aside from a friendly reminder that you should try your best not to hit an activated dust crystal while you're there, of course."

"I can't help but feel like that's a not-so-subtle jab aimed at me, James," Qrow deadpanned.

"Maybe." He took a step back. "Jokes aside, though, I do hope that the upgrades Pietro and Opal here have worked so hard to complete will help make sure you all emerge unscathed. While I am trusting you all to see this mission done, I'd still like to avoid seeing any of you endure any unnecessary harm so soon after your arrival."

"We'll get it done, sir," Opal nodded.

Ironwood nodded. "I appreciate the sentiment. Now, if that'll be all, I'll be on my way. Expect to see me again soon after you're done with the mission."

And with only another glance sent each of his allies' ways, the general turned on his heel and left at the same dutiful pace he possessed when he entered the room in the first place. For a brief time, without Ironwood's presence, the room's original feeling of emptiness and lack of energy prevailed as everyone left took advantage of his absence to simply process the mission they had just been assigned to. Opal wasn't worried in the slightest, though – she didn't fight so hard to survive against the likes of Lionheart and Cinder at Haven just to fall prey to fear now.

Qrow broke the silence first. "I see the gears turning in your guys' heads, so if any of you have some concerns, I think now would be a good time to voice them."

"Oh! I was only thinking about how this mission might go down," Jaune said. "Once we're down on the ground, even with all the information Ironwood gave us, it's not like it'd be the first time some crazy new Grimm showed up to catch us off-guard."

"Which is why we'll be headed out in teams," Qrow reminded. "Safety in numbers."

"And team combination attacks!" Ruby exclaimed.

He gave her an amused look. "You really still think about that kind of stuff all the time, huh?"

"It helped RWBY deal with Torchwick and our first fight in the tournament during the Vytal Festival, so…" Ruby scratched the back of her head and feigned a smile until it came crashing down in a rare moment of self-awareness. "Okay, yeah, maybe I spend too much time thinking about team attack names."

Jaune patted her on the shoulder as he started out of the room. "At least you're aware that it's a little obsession you have. Just thinking about attack names doesn't do much harm though – you could have worse hobbies."

"Oh, _thanks,_ " Qrow drawled.

Ruby smiled slightly. "Well, you did get too drunk to help us out a lot of the time on our way to Argus, so…"

"Point taken."

Qrow and Ruby then turned to follow Jaune out of the room. The door had barely opened when Opal's eyes widened in realization. There was still something of tremendous importance that none of them ever discussed since their original encounter with Ironwood.

"Wait a second," she said.

The three stopped.

"Opal?" Ruby asked. "What is it?"

"I figured that while we were here…" Opal paused, and the look she extended toward the team leader of RWBY hardened slightly. "We should probably talk about what we've told Ironwood – or rather, _haven't_ told him."

"You mean about Salem," Jaune observed.

Qrow nodded. "Or Ozpin."

"I wanted to talk about both of those things, actually," Opal confirmed with a glance spared toward the two men. "But for starters… while I won't go out of my way to say that what you did when we talked to Ironwood before was wrong, Ruby, I want to make sure you know that we'll have to come clean eventually. We can't expect to take advantage of his trust and get away with it without any consequences if he finds out we've been hiding something from him."

Ruby's lip pursed, and her fingers flexed in the air as she searched for words. "I know that. I do, but… when we were all together talking to him back there, I was worried. He already seems stressed about everything that's going on with Salem and the world, so I just thought that telling him right then and there that we don't know if Salem _can_ be beat wouldn't really be a good idea."

"And how Ozpin kept all that secret from all of us for as long as we've fought for him," Qrow added. "I'm of a mind with you, Ruby. None of you kids know how much Ironwood respected and _still_ respects Oz and what he supposedly stands for. He trusts him with his life, even if he never really put a lot of stock into the strategies he made to keep Salem at bay."

Opal sighed softly. "I'm not arguing that we should have told him then – I agree that you made the right call by taking the lead back there – but we _need_ to be prepared to break the news to him when the time comes."

"I get the feeling you've been thinking about this for a while," Jaune mentioned.

"Whenever I've had a spare moment, yeah, I have been." She glanced down at the floor for a moment, then back to the other leaders in the room. "Say that Salem doesn't send anything other than a constant stream of lesser Grimm here to try and stop us, and Amity Tower goes up into the atmosphere without a hitch – what happens then?"

"Ironwood tells the kingdom about Salem," Ruby said.

"And his military plus us fight back the Grimm that'll swarm the city when he does," Jaune added.

"Then, for better or worse, James tells the rest of the world, and we do the same thing everywhere else for as long as it takes for the panic to die down," Qrow finished.

Opal raised a finger. "That's the plan. Even if we assume Salem won't interfere in that entire plan – which, let's face it, is bound to happen if she's as smart as we all know she is – we haven't thought about what happens after _all_ that is over."

Qrow's shoulders dropped. "I don't like where this is going…"

"Neither do I," Opal sighed. "But it's pretty clear to me that Ironwood's endgame is to use the unity he wants to bring the rest of the world to unite it under a single banner. Even if it's only temporary, he's going to have the entire world mobilized to strike at a common enemy. Salem."

"And every fighter on the planet would be wiped out since we don't know if there's any way to put a stop to her," Qrow pinched the bridge of his nose. "I knew you were observant, Opal, but I didn't realize you could think so far ahead."

"Between the attack that took my eye and the loss of my parents, I've spent a long, _long_ time dwelling in the past." She averted the licensed Huntsman's gaze. "After we arrived in Mistral and I became leader of my clan, though, I had to start looking toward the future. If we follow orders forever and never fill Ironwood in on what we're _really_ up against, we're just about handing the world to Salem on a silver platter. Even if we wiped out the Grimm as fast as they could spawn, Salem would keep coming back until every last one of us was gone. We can't keep Ironwood in the dark forever."

Ruby's voice came out small. "Then when _should_ we tell him everything? After this mission? The one after that? When Amity Tower's finally launched?"

"I don't know," Opal solemnly admitted. She looked up. "But I do know that even though you didn't mean to get us into this position, you'll be able to get us out of it when you think the time is right. You're a good leader, Ruby, it's just that we need to keep track of where we're headed at all times if we want to win this war."

Qrow rested his hand on his niece's shoulder. "All of us do, kiddo."

"Thanks, Uncle Qrow." Ruby took a moment to regain her composure. "So… thanks for still having faith in me, Opal. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about before we…?"

"Try to leave again?" Jaune guessed.

"Yeah, that."

Opal's breath punched from her nose. "Kind of. I know we just went over how we aren't going to tell Ironwood everything until the time is right, but when you made up that excuse for Oscar about why we can't talk to Ozpin anymore – how'd _he_ feel about that? Did you talk to him about it, at all?"

At that, some nervous energy faded from Ruby's face. "Oh! Yeah, that was pretty much the first thing I did after we all found our dorms. Oscar told me that he wasn't too worried about how I handled things back there. He's basically on the same page as we are now about the whole situation with Ironwood."

"Good," Opal said. "As long as he doesn't feel like he's been thrown under the bus. The poor guy has enough weight on his shoulders being the next host for Ozpin without us making him feel like he isn't still one of our friends."

"Oh, definitely," Jaune agreed. The door hissed open again as he turned and started down the empty hall. "No arguments there, but I think that I'll probably go and find my team now. Maybe grab some food while I'm at it, too."

Ruby quickly scurried after him. "Food sounds _amazing_ right now – we didn't even have lunch because we were in the lab so long! _Oh!_ Jaune!Do you think they have cookies? I hear that…"

The door sealed itself shut again on its built-in timer as the historically socially awkward team leaders of RWBY and JNPR made their way to parts unknown. Qrow simply stared at the old steel of the door with an unreadable air about his eyes, which Opal soon chose to interpret as a sign that she should leave him well enough alone, for now. With that observation in mind, her hand wrapping around the sheath of her weapon gave her soul some comfort, and she began her silent walk out of the room.

"Opal."

She stopped short. "Yeah?"

"I know you and I haven't had any heart-to-heart talks in the time we've spent together, but…" Qrow's lips twisted at an odd angle as if to convey his discomfort. "After how you just went out of your way to make sure we were still thinking beyond the mission right in front of us, I thought that maybe I should fix that."

Opal turned to face him. "Qrow, you don't have to do that for me. I'm just doing my part."

He shook his head. "No, you've done that. You've always done your part no matter how dangerous it's been for you. You fought for your life against Arach Nid with your team when the rest of us were busy with Tyrian. You gave us a place to stay in Mistral even though we _both_ know that your parents aren't around anymore, at least in part, because of Oz and Salem's fight, and gave your people a reason to look forward to tomorrow. You fought to defend Raven against Cinder – who _already_ stabbed you back at Beacon – and tried your best to warn her to be careful before she got herself killed anyway. You held off Adam Taurus and gave Blake the time she needed to give the rest of us the opening we needed to get out of Argus."

"Everyone else has gone through a lot, too, though," Opal said.

Qrow placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, but not all of them have lost as much as you have either. I'm not Oz, but still… sorry. For everything you've had to go through and push on to watch our backs anyway."

She lifted her hand to land on his. "Thanks, Qrow. That means a lot."

His hand slid down to join his other within his pockets, and he smirked. "Keep up the good work you've been doing lately, and you can expect more of this kind of thanks in the future. I wouldn't get _too_ used to it, though. Can't have you kids thinking I'm getting too soft."

"After you flew in to save Ruby on our way to Mistral, it's _way_ too late for that." Opal strode alongside him as they exited the briefing room together.

Qrow pointed at her. "Touché. You win this one, kid."

"So where are we headed next?"

He shrugged. "I'd say a bar, but you're not old enough to drink and I've quit since we managed to get out of Argus, so… let's say the cafeteria. I'm sure those twin brothers on your team will probably be there, too."

"With their appetites?" Opal scoffed. "I'd be surprised if they didn't eat Atlas Academy out house and home before the year is out. I almost feel bad that I had to leave Aurora to keep them from going nuts without me around."

"Almost?" Qrow questioned amusedly.

Opal smiled. "I love Lux with all my heart, but sometimes it _can_ be nice to have a little time away from him now and again. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and all that."

"Not sure if you'll be able to convince Aurora to see things the same way, Opal."

"Well, if the twins were really rowdy, I'm sure she'll forgive me…"

Qrow grinned. "Finish that sentence."

"Fine. I'm sure she'll forgive me… eventually."

" _Ha!_ Since we're headed to the same place, good luck with that one. You'll need it."

It was at that moment that Opal genuinely wondered if the universe had it out for her.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **And thus, we have another chapter of this fic that seeks to slightly improve upon the train wreck that is RWBY canon that's finally come to an end. To start this (potentially) lengthy author's note off, I would like to point out that I've realized that ToTI, in general,** _ **might**_ **not have chapters that'll ever be the same average length as WFAF does. Why? I have a sneaking suspicion that a part of it has to do with how ill-defined and badly characterized the cast of the canon show are as people, but also that the story itself is somewhat problematic to a little thing called** _ **logic,**_ **and that the episodes themselves are often far shorter than the likes of a typical anime such as My Hero Academia. If I were cleverer, I'd put a cheeky comment about the difference in quality between the two anime here, as well.**

 **In terms of this chapter's goings-on themselves… was it a good idea to include an entire scene of techno-geek talk? Nope. Did I do it so that I could add some flavor and much-needed worldbuilding to this necrotic mass of tissue and half-baked ideas that is the show called RWBY? Yep. At least next chapter Opal gets to interact a little bit more with her teammates, and the pseudo-as-canon show can continue in a manner you can probably expect. For now.**


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